Two suicide bombings by militants from Islamist extremist group Boko Haram left five civilians and a policeman dead in Niger on Sunday, a humanitarian worker said. "There were 10 deaths in total: a policeman, five civilians and the four suicide bombers," said the source, based in the south-eastern city of Diffa where the blasts occurred.
"Apparently, the assailants, all armed with explosive belts, were going after military targets but they were unable to hit any," the source said, adding some people with light injuries were taken to hospital. "They were chased by inhabitants who informed the army and they swiftly went after them."
A municipal official earlier had given a toll of three civilian deaths in Diffa, a city near the border with Nigeria.
The region had experienced several weeks of relative calm but 15 civilians were killed in a Boko Haram attack in a south-eastern village in the Diffa area on September 25 and two soldiers died in an ambush last Thursday.