Niger has arrested five people near the Nigerian border
suspected of belonging to the militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko
Haram, Niger security officials said on Tuesday.
The group has been blamed for more than 1,000 deaths in Nigeria since
2010. Observers say they suspect it is using Niger as a transit route
to link up with other militant groups like Al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Magreb, now controlling northern Mali.
“State Security Police arrested the five suspected Boko Haram members
who entered Niger on Sunday through the Zinder region. They have been
transferred to Niamey for further questioning,” a security official
said, asking not to be named told Reuters.
Another security official said Niger had heightened security along
its border with Nigeria as the country intensifies its fight against the
militant group, which wants to carve out an Islamic state in northern
Nigeria.
Nigeria’s military had announced the death of 35 members of Boko
Haram and arrested several during an overnight gun battle in Damaturu,
capital of northeastern Yobe state which borders Niger.
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