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At Least 12 Nigerien Troops Killed in Attack in Niger

by VOA News

   Authorities in Niger say at least a dozen paramilitary police have been
   killed in an attack similar to the one that killed four U.S. Green
   Beret and four Nigerien troops on October 4.

   Saturday's attack took place in the same area, officials said. The raid
   took place in the town of Ayorou, about 200 kilometers northwest of the
   capital, Niamey.

   Reports said the attackers were heavily armed with guns and rocket
   launchers. They arrived in five vehicles to launch their ambush on a
   gendarmes' base. The attackers left when Nigerien military
   reinforcements showed up.

   The area is near the border with Mali, where the attackers are thought
   to be based. The region has seen a string of recent incursions by
   jihadists.

   The deaths of the U.S. troops October 4 has caused major controversy in
   Washington, D.C., where lawmakers are seeking more information about
   the incident.

   U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis went to Capitol Hill on Friday to
   meet with Senator John McCain after the chairman of the Senate Armed
   Services Committee threatened to issue a subpoena for information about
   the deaths of four U.S. soldiers killed in Niger.
   After meeting privately with McCain in his office Friday, Mattis
   promised to keep better lines of communication with Congress.
   "We could be better at communication, we can always improve at
   communication, and that's exactly what we'll do," he said.

   McCain said the meeting helped to clear up the information channels. "I
   felt we were not getting a sufficient amount of information and we are
   clearing a lot of that up now," he said.

   Earlier this week, McCain threatened to use a subpoena to compel
   information from the Pentagon and Trump administration officials about
   the Niger attack. He complained that it was easier to get information
   about military operations under former President Barack Obama.
   The U.S. military has blamed Islamic State militants for the deaths of
   the four Special Forces soldiers in southwestern Niger and has said it
   is conducting an investigation into the October 4 attack.