Niger

[Schneemann]

Niger 'destroys al-Qaeda convoy'

An army patrol in Niger has attacked a convoy carrying suspected al-Qaeda militants, killing three of them, the country's defence minister says. Mahamadou Karidio said in a statement that the clash occurred in the Agadez region in the remote northern desert.

Arms were recovered and more than 50 young men who had been forcibly recruited were captured, he said. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is active in Niger, Mali and Algeria, often capturing hostages for ransom. [...] AQIM emerged during the Algerian war in the 1990s as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.

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Schneemann.