Islamist militants attacked an army camp in Western Niger on Tuesday, killing 71 soldiers, according to an army spokesman. It was the deadliest assault on the country's military in living memory, the spokesman told news outlets on Wednesday.
"The combat [was] of a rare violence, combining artillery shells and the use of kamikaze vehicles by the enemy," army spokesman Col. Boubacar Hassan said, according to Reuters. An additional 12 soldiers were injured in the fighting that stretched over three hours, he said.