IS claims deadly Niger attack: propaganda arm

The Islamic State group Thursday claimed an ambush on an army patrol in Niger that killed at least 28 troops.

A military patrol was ambushed on Tuesday near the village of Tongo Tongo in the western Tillaberi region, near the Mali border, security sources told AFP.

The ambush came one day after insurgents attacked Niger's high-security Koutoukale jail, which holds the country's most dangerous detainees, including jihadists from groups active in the Sahel area and from Nigeria's Boko Haram.

IS claimed responsibility for both the ambush and the prison attack in a statement published on its social media channels.

It said Tuesday's ambush killed and wounded around 40 soldiers. Niger is one of a number of poor, fragile countries in the Sahel region that have been hit by jihadist violence.