Gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram, in motorised canoes, have attacked a Niger army base on an island in Lake Chad, Niger's Defence Ministry stated. The Niger Army might have suffered “heavy losses” in the attack on Karamga Island, sources stated. Casualty figures were not provided in a defence ministry statement. The ministry stated the assailants approached at dawn in about 10 motorised canoes. “Operations are ongoing with the aid of allies” to put an end to the insurgent movement, the statement stated. Niger joined a regional offensive earlier this year with troops also coming from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, that is credited with retaking large swaths of territory in Nigeria from Boko Haram.
