Officials in Niger say a military base and a French-owned uranium mine were hit by separate bomb attacks early Thursday, wounding an unknown number of people.
Paris-based Areva says 13 of its employees were wounded in the attack in Arlit, a mainly industrial town in the north-central part of the country. Witnesses say the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who blew up his vehicle outside the facility.
Around the same time, Niger security officials say a car bomb attack occurred outside a military barracks in Agadez, about 250 kilometers to the south.
It is not yet clear who is behind the attacks.
Niger has contributed troops to a West African force fighting Islamist insurgents who had taken over parts of neighboring Mali. Islamist fighters have carried out several attacks in the region in retaliation for the offensive, which initially was led by France.
Paris-based Areva says 13 of its employees were wounded in the attack in Arlit, a mainly industrial town in the north-central part of the country. Witnesses say the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who blew up his vehicle outside the facility.
Around the same time, Niger security officials say a car bomb attack occurred outside a military barracks in Agadez, about 250 kilometers to the south.
It is not yet clear who is behind the attacks.
Niger has contributed troops to a West African force fighting Islamist insurgents who had taken over parts of neighboring Mali. Islamist fighters have carried out several attacks in the region in retaliation for the offensive, which initially was led by France.
