Thirty Nigerien soldiers and two Nigerian soldiers were killed in a Boko Haram attack on Friday night against the southeastern town of Bosso, close to the border with Nigeria, Niger’s defence ministry said on Saturday.
“On Friday, hundreds of assailants of Boko Haram attacked” the position of the army of Bosso, the ministry said in a statement.
“The counter-offensive conducted early this morning helped to retake control of all the positions in the city of Bosso. The situation is under control”, it added.
Since February 2015, Niger has been plagued by Boko Haram attacks in its southeast region.
The Islamists frequently stage cross-border raids from their stronghold in neighbouring Nigeria.
The insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and made more than 2.6 million homeless.