The attack on the military base left 25 servicemen of Niger and 63 assailants dead while six soldiers were injured, the local defense ministry said as quoted by AFP.

“The response with the combined air support of the Niger air force and partners made it possible to strike and rout the enemy outside our boundaries,” Spokesperson Colonel Souleymane Gazobi added.

He stated that the incident took place in Chinegodar, in the Western Tillaberi Region, at 01:00 pm local time and that the heavily armed militants came in vehicles and on motorbikes.

“The defense ministry… offers its condolences to the victims and wishes the wounded a prompt recovery,” the government statement said, adding that the army is trying to establish the identities of the attackers.

In December 2019, terrorists attacked an army camp in Western Niger near the Malian border killing at least 70 soldiers, while 30 others went missing. The Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Niger is part of the G5 anti-militant task force which also includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania and is fighting against Boko Haram militants as well as terrorists linked to the Daesh group.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, attacks in Niger have increased fourfold last year, with over 400 people killed, despite the efforts on the part of the international community to prevent raids in the region.