Niger Defense Minister Wants The U.S. To Deploy Armed Drones Against Militants

Niger and neighboring countries. Image: The Intercept

Reuters: Niger defense minister asks U.S. to deploy armed drones against militants

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger has asked the United States to start using armed drones against jihadist groups operating on the Mali border, raising the stakes in a counter-insurgency campaign jolted by a deadly ambush of allied U.S.-Nigerien forces.

On Oct. 4, Islamist militants with sniper rifles and rocket propelled grenades killed four U.S. soldiers and at least four of their Nigerian partners in an ambush that exposed the dangers of an expanding U.S. presence in the largely desert nation.

What began as a small U.S. training operation has expanded to an 800-strong force that accompanies the Nigerians on intelligence gathering and other missions. It includes a $100million drone base in the central Nigerian city of Agadez which, however, at present only deploys surveillance drones.

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WNU Editor: There are already U.S. drones base in Niger .... U.S. Building ‘$50 Million Drone Base’ in Niger (Newsweek). And there is a new one about to be opened .... Tough terrain delays opening of new US drone site in Niger (Stars and Stripes)