Niger troops, Chad air force fight off Boko Haram attack

Niger troops and Chadian war planes fought off an attack on Friday on the Niger town of Bosso by Boko Haram militants whose insurgency is spreading from Nigeria to neighbouring states, military officials in Niger said.

The fighting took place in the southeastern region of Diffa, part of the border area where Chad has sent hundreds of troops to help Niger take on Boko Haram, the sources said.

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“The Boko Haram attack from Malam Fatori (in Nigeria) against the town of Bosso and the bridge at Doutchi in the Diffa region has been repulsed. We have Chadian planes bombarding the locality,” said a Niger military source.

A second source said, “There is heavy weapons fire from both sides …. We have at least five injured in our ranks.” Later a military source said the attack had failed, calm had returned and there was no hot pursuit operation into Nigeria.