Suspected jihadists kill at least 19 in bus attack in Niger

By DALATOU MAMANE
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The Association of Passenger Transport Companies said armed men attacked a bus killing at least 19 passengers in western Niger near the border with Burkina Faso. A dozen suspected jihadists on motorcycles intercepted the bus on Wednesday near the village of Fono, shooting the passengers before setting the bus on fire. Several passengers were injured and others are missing from the bus that was heading from Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, to Niger’s capital, Niamey.  No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but similar attacks have been carried out in the Tillaberi region near the border with Burkina Faso by jihadist groups linked to both al-Qaida and the Islamic State Group.