Nigeria-based jihadi group Boko Haram launched fresh attacks inside neighbouring Niger on Monday, raiding a prison located in the southeastern border town of Diffa, according to humanitarian sources.
The attackers faced tough resistance from local soldiers who successfully repelled them in a heavy exchange of fire, the AFP reports citing sources. No casualty has been reported so far.
The incident is the latest in the series of attackers launched by the notorious Nigerian militant group over the past week. On Sunday, a blast in Diffa killed at least one person and wounded over 10.
The country's parliament is expected on Monday to support a move to deploy troops in Nigeria along with soldiers from Chad and Cameroon, to fight Boko Haram.
According to aid workers cited by news agencies, on Sunday, the assailants came from Nigeria where the militant group is based and used heavy artillery fire. The cause of the huge blast in the centre of Diffa was not officially known, although fingers point towards the outfit.
An official at Diffa town was cited by AFP as saying on Sunday that the blast appeared to be a work of a female suicide bomber who blew herself in the middle of the market.
The first major attack in Niger was launched by the organisation on Friday triggering a round of responses from local troops. Niger force claims to have killed over 100 Islamists since trouble started in the country.
On Saturday, Niger's Defence Minister Karidjo Mahamadou said that at least 109 Boko Haram militants were killed by soldiers in response to attacks inside Niger. The incident came close on the heels of another major episode last Wednesday where at least 200 Boko Haram militants and 9 Chadian soldiers were killed in clashes during a raid in neighbouring Nigeria.
