<span style="color: #222222;">In Niger, unidentified gunmen have killed 16 soldiers and injured six others in an ambush in southwest part of the country.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The attack on an army patrol occurred on Saturday afternoon in the Tahoua region of the West African country.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Meanwhile, it is unclear who carried out the attack, but the area is overrun by terrorist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The vast desert area of Tahoua in west Niger near the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso has been plagued by violence since 2012.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In March, an attack by rebel fighters on three villages near Niger's border with Mali left a total of 141 people dead.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">They were the worst attacks committed by armed groups in Niger in recent years.</span><br />''  <br />