109 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in First Attack on Niger

Boko Haram launched its first major attack in Niger on Friday, triggering a forceful response from regional troops who claimed to have killed more than a hundred of the terrorists.
The clashes in Bosso and Diffa, along the border with Nigeria, marked yet another expansion of violence attributed to Boko Haram, but it seemed to have come at a heavy cost.
Niger's defence minister reported that 109 of the terrorists were killed, along with four soldiers and a civilian. Seventeen other troops were wounded.
Chadian forces, who have taken a lead role in battling Boko Haram in recent days, fought alongside Niger's troops on Friday.
Chad's commander in Niger, General Yaya Daoud, was also wounded with a gunshot to the stomach, a security source said.
Niger's Defence Minister Mahamadou Karidjo said calm had been restored to both Bosso and Diffa.
The clashes in Niger came as regional efforts intensified to battle Boko Haram, which has waged a six-year insurgency centred in northeastern Nigeria, where the Boko Haram have seized swathes of territory.
In response, Boko Haram launched a bloody counter-attack on the Cameroonian town of Fotokol, killing 19 soldiers and at least 81 civilians.
The conflict has killed at least 13,000 people and forced more than a million from their homes since 2009.