Boko Haram Attacks Niger for First Time

Boko Haram militants on Friday launched an attack on a border town in Niger that left a number of people dead, the first such assault in the country by the Islamists now being hunted by regional forces.

Soldiers repelled the assault on the town of Bosso, but it marked yet another expansion of violence attributed to Boko Haram, which has waged a worsening six-year insurgency centered in northeastern Nigeria. 

Local radio reports said three troops from Niger were injured in the fighting that broke out around 0800 GMT and saw an unknown number of Boko Haram fighters killed.

"We're hearing about quite a few dead on the Boko Haram side," a humanitarian source said. "It's a fair number. There were clearly people killed."

The attack came a day after Niger announced it would ask its parliament to approve on Monday sending troops to Nigeria to fight the militants. Cameroon and Chad have already targeted the Islamists with their militaries in recent days. 

"We could hear the sound of weapons all around the town, often very near our windows. There was the noise of heavy weapons and of light arms, making our houses shake," one resident told AFP.

Niger's army took on the Nigerian jihadists alongside troops from Chad who have been stationed in Bosso since Monday, a humanitarian worker said, stating that Boko Haram "took the municipality" for a time before being "driven back to Nigeria".

However, a local leader said only that Niger's troops fought back the raid, while the Chadians were stationed at a distance.

A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said soldiers from Chad and Niger "were all over the streets" of Bosso.

"It was like a race across the town," one resident said. "As the fighting drew near, we heard cries of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Greater). We heard an aircraft fly over the town."

"We even saw smoke coming up from the town hall and the prefect's office, where heavy gunfire was heard," he added in the Hausa language, asking not to be named. "It's quiet now, but we're staying home."

Other clashes broke out some 10 kilometers (six miles) from Niger's Diffa, which is on the border with Nigeria near a bridge that links the two countries. Its control is essential for transporting troops and supplies. 

Little more than a stream, the Komadougou Yobe marks the frontier between Niger and Nigeria, and the water level has recently dropped considerably, making it easy to cross.

A large number of refugees fleeing the violence in Nigeria have also crossed into Diffa.

Yacouba Soumana Gaoh, Diffa's governor, told local reporters that close to 3,000 of Niger's troops are massed in groups every 10-15 kilometers along the border with Nigeria.

Nigeria's military has drawn fierce criticism for failing to rein in the insurgents, who have intensified attacks ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections set for February 14. They have also seized swathes of territory in the country's northeast. 

Nigerian election authorities said they will announce on Saturday whether the polls will be delayed as problems mount with distributing identity cards to 68.8 million registered voters.

Earlier this week, Chad launched a ground assault across the frontier to battle the jihadists and recapture the Nigerian town of Gamboru after having bombed the area beforehand. Chad's army said it had killed more than 200 Boko Haram fighters in the clashes.

In response, Boko Haram launched a bloody counter-attack on the Cameroonian town of Fotokol, killing 19 soldiers and at least 81 civilians.

The Boko Haram conflict has killed at least 13,000 people and forced more than a million from their homes since 2009.