The unprecedented attacks were claimed by an Islamist group as revenge for Niger's involvement in a French-led military offensive in neighbouring Mali and come just four months after Al-Qaeda linked militants seized a desert gas plant in neighbouring Algeria in a siege that left 38 hostages dead.

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of the Islamist groups which seized control of northern Mali last year before being driven out by French-led troops, claimed the near simultaneous bombings at the Agadez army base and the French majority-owned uranium mine in Arlit.
"Thanks to Allah, we have carried out two operations against the enemies of Islam in Niger," MUJAO spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui told AFP. ...

read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/niger/10076437/Islamist-bombers-kill-20-in-Niger-attacks-seize-hostages.html

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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon