Twelve Nigerien soldiers were killed in a “surprise offensive” by armed men near the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, the army reported Saturday.
The attack occurred on Friday about 10 km north of Sakoira, an area plagued by an insurgency linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
Two suspects have been detained in connection with the attack.
While the army did not identify the assailants, last month Niger blamed the EIGS group, an Islamic State affiliate, for a deadly mosque attack in the same region.
The Sahel insurgency, originating in Mali in 2012, has spread to neighboring countries, causing widespread casualties and displacement.
The failure to contain the violence contributed to military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, leading these nations to seek security assistance from Russia after cutting ties with traditional Western allies.