Niger says at least 10 soldiers killed in insurgent ambush

NIAMEY (Reuters) - At least 10 Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush, and more than a dozen others were injured by armed assailants near the West African Sahel nation's border with neighbouring Mali, Niger's defence minister said in a statement on Saturday.

Around 16 people are missing following the attack on Friday evening in Banibangou near Mali, Alkassoum Indattou said in a statement, adding that air force support forced the insurgents to flee across the border into Mali.