Forty dead in Boko Haram attack in Niger

Forty people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks on two Niger villages, with the attackers pillaging stores and burning homes.

The Nigerian military on patrol after flushing out Boko Haram Islamic militants from Michika, North East Nigeria, 19 March 2015 (EPA/STR) Source: EPA

The governor of the Diffa region in Niger says that an attack by the extremist group Boko Haram based in neighbouring Nigeria has killed 40 people in two villages.

Governor Yakouba Soumana Goah said on Thursday the attackers pillaged stores and burned homes in the early hours of the morning before withdrawing from the villages located near the border with Nigeria.

He added that the army went in pursuit of the attackers.

Boko Haram last attacked Niger in April and killed at least 58 people.

The Islamic group took control of a large swath of northeast Nigeria until a multinational force this year forced them out of towns and villages but it still engages in cross-border hit and run attacks.