CAIRO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed
responsibility on Thursday for an attack on a military camp in
Niger near the border with Mali on Tuesday, according to a
statement issued by a branch of the militant group in the
region.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) said the attack
killed at least 100 soldiers and injured many others, while a
Niger army spokesman said on Wednesday that 71 soldiers were
killed.
Jihadists with links to Islamic State and al Qaeda have
mounted increasingly lethal attacks across West Africa's Sahel
region this year despite thousands of regional and foreign
troops being sent to counter them.