This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22637084
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 3 | Version 4 |
---|---|
Niger suicide bombers target Areva mine and barracks | Niger suicide bombers target Areva mine and barracks |
(35 minutes later) | |
Two suicide bombers have struck a military camp and a French-run uranium mine in two towns in north western Niger, officials say. | Two suicide bombers have struck a military camp and a French-run uranium mine in two towns in north western Niger, officials say. |
A bomb at the military barracks in Agadez killed at least 17 soldiers, Niger's defence minister Mahamadou Karidjo told the BBC. | |
French nuclear firm Areva said that 13 people at its Somair plant in the town of Arlit were wounded. | French nuclear firm Areva said that 13 people at its Somair plant in the town of Arlit were wounded. |
Mr Karidjo said groups linked to al-Qaeda were suspected of involvement. | |
The attackers were thought to have come from southern Libya, he added. | |
Both attacks were carried out as people prepared for the early morning prayer just after 05:00 local time (04:00 GMT), BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy reports. | |
Mr Karidjo said insurgents drove a car bomb into the military base at Agadez. Around two dozen people were wounded in the blast, including civilians. | |
Abdoulaye Harouna, a resident of Agadez, told the Associated Press: "We heard a strong detonation that woke the whole neighbourhood, it was so powerful." | |
Four of the attackers are said to have been killed. | |
"There is at least one remaining assailant that we are trying to capture," Mr Karidjo told the BBC. | |
Kidnapped | Kidnapped |
Further north, a suicide bomber blew up a car close to workers at the Areva-run mine at Arlit. | Further north, a suicide bomber blew up a car close to workers at the Areva-run mine at Arlit. |
"A man in military uniform driving a 4x4 packed with explosives mixed in with the Somair workers and blew up his vehicle in front of the power station at the uranium treatment facility," a mine employee told AFP news agency. | "A man in military uniform driving a 4x4 packed with explosives mixed in with the Somair workers and blew up his vehicle in front of the power station at the uranium treatment facility," a mine employee told AFP news agency. |
He said the bomber had died in the blast. | |
Security was stepped up at Areva's Arlit operation - one of the country's biggest uranium mines - in February. Niger provides one-fifth of France's uranium needs, according to French media. | Security was stepped up at Areva's Arlit operation - one of the country's biggest uranium mines - in February. Niger provides one-fifth of France's uranium needs, according to French media. |
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said French special forces had moved in to protect the site after dozens of hostages died when Islamist militants seized a gas plant in Algeria in January. | |
Five French workers were kidnapped from the Arlit mine by Islamist militants in 2010. | Five French workers were kidnapped from the Arlit mine by Islamist militants in 2010. |
Four of them are still being held and it is believed they could be in northern Mali, close to where French troops were sent to oust al-Qaeda-linked militants in January. | Four of them are still being held and it is believed they could be in northern Mali, close to where French troops were sent to oust al-Qaeda-linked militants in January. |
One of the groups that has fallen under suspicion of carrying out the latest attacks is Mujao (the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa), a splinter group of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which operates mostly in northern Mali. | |
It says its objective is to spread jihad to West Africa rather than confine itself to the Sahel and Maghreb regions - the main focus of AQIM. | It says its objective is to spread jihad to West Africa rather than confine itself to the Sahel and Maghreb regions - the main focus of AQIM. |