Four killed in Boko Haram prison attack in Niger
Iran Press TV
Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:23PM
At least one soldier and three Boko Haram Takfiri militants have been killed during a shootout after the militant group raided a prison in southeastern Niger.
Nigerien government sources said the militants armed with grenades and assault rifles attacked the prison in the city of Diffa, near the border with Nigeria on early Sunday.
'They killed a captain of the prison guard and three of the attackers died,' AFP quoted an unnamed source as saying. The attack was subsequently repelled.
The source added that at least two other jail guards were also injured during the fierce fighting.
Local media reports indicate that the intense gun battle at the prison lasted for at least an hour.
The attackers, dressed in army uniforms, were probably attempting to free some Boko Haram members held in the prison.
Security officials said the three dead assailants all wore belts packed with explosives.
Earlier in June, a Boko Haram assault targeted two villages close to Diffa, killing more than three dozen civilians -- including 14 women and 10 children.
Diffa is considered a hot spot for militancy and a large number of young people have joined the ranks of Boko Haram across the troubled city over the past years.
According to local officials, the militant group is paying around USD 500 to each of the militants per month.
Boko Haram's deadly militancy, which erupted in northern Nigeria, has claimed the lives of at least 15,000 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless since 2009.
The militant group has recently stepped up its gun and bomb attacks in Nigeria and its neighboring countries.
Troops from Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon have been fighting Boko Haram militants and have claimed a string of successes in recent months.
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