NIAMEY, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Niger's Defense and Security Forces (FDS) said Wednesday that they had "neutralized" about 20 terrorists who attacked their position on Feb. 4 in Makalondi, a town in Torodi department of the Tillaberi region in western Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso.
According to the army's weekly information bulletin published by the state-run media Le Sahel, the FDS also destroyed about a dozen motorcycles and seized various war materials during the operation.
The attack on the joint position occurred at around 4:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Feb. 4, when FDS elements stationed in Makalondi came under assault by armed assailants. Reinforcements supported by air and ground units were swiftly deployed to contain and "neutralize" the threat, the army noted.
Three FDS personnel were killed and seven others injured in the clashes, it added.
Nigerien Defense Minister Salifou Mody expressed his deep condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. ■