AN AMBUSH by a “group of criminals” killed at least 10 Nigerien soldiers near the country’s border with Burkina Faso this week, Niger’s military rulers said on Wednesday.

An intervention unit was sent to the west of the country on Monday to catch criminals stealing cattle in Takzat, a village in western Niger, according to a military statement broadcast on Wednesday night.

“It was during the operation that a group of criminals ambushed the detachment of the internal security forces which resulted in the loss of 10 of our soldiers,” it said.

It did not specify who the criminals were.

The attackers managed to flee, but the military caught and “neutralised 15 terrorists" on Tuesday, the statement added.

Niger, along with its neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadist groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

The three countries vowed to strengthen their co-operation by establishing a new security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States.

But the Sahel, a vast region on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, has continued to face significant security challenges.

During December, 10 soldiers were killed and seven others injured in an attack near Niger’s border with Burkina Faso, the army said.