Unidentified assailants attacked soldiers guarding a major Niger-Benin oil pipeline on Wednesday, killing six soldiers, three security sources told media on Thursday.
The pipeline itself was not damaged, according to one source.
The attack occurred between the villages of Salkam and Tibiri in Niger’s southeastern Dosso region on Wednesday afternoon. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the first on security forces protecting the pipeline. Jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State operate in the area.
All three sources confirmed the death of six soldiers.
The nearly 2,000 km (1,243-mile) PetroChina-backed pipeline, launched in November, links Niger’s Agadem oilfield to Benin’s coast, where crude oil is loaded for export.
