Daesh claims killing in Niger of French aid workers, guides
Daesh on Thursday claimed the killing in August of
six French aid workers and their two local guides while they were visiting a
nature reserve in the West African country of Niger.
The six French humanitarian workers, aged between 25
and 30, their guide and their driver were killed on August 9 in the Koure
National Park, a wildlife haven 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Niger’s capital
Niamey.
The statement, issued in the Daesh publication
Al-Naba and authenticated by US monitoring group SITE, said that the eight had
been killed following their capture in a “blitz attack.”
It claimed that the attack was considered “a major
security lapse” for France, which has a 5,100 strong force deployed in the
Sahel region of West Africa to fight militant groups.
French anti-terror prosecutors have already said
that the attack appeared to be a “premeditated” strike against Westerners while
it was unclear if the French aid workers and their NGO Acted were specifically
targeted.
The area, which is famous for its giraffes, is a
popular a destination for weekend leisure trips by Niamey residents, including
foreigners.
French investigators have been sent to Niger to
carry out the probe.
French President Emmanuel Macron has described the
killings as “manifestly a terrorist attack” and said there would be
repercussions.
