Soldiers shot dead Boko Haram suicide bomber

Soldiers shot dead Boko Haram suicide bomber

Soldiers shot dead a suicide bomber suspected of belonging to Islamist militant group Boko Haram on Monday after he tried to detonate an explosive belt near a military post in the southern Niger town of Bagara, the army said on Tuesday.

Three Boko Haram fighters armed with knives also attacked a military post and wounded a security agent in the town, an army statement said.

Boko Haram has launched attacks into Cameroon, Niger and Chad from Nigeria as part of a six-year insurgency that aims to set up a breakaway Islamic state and now threatens the Lake Chad region.

The African Union has authorized nations including Niger to mount a counter-insurgency campaign.