Suicide bomber in Niger attacks near police station, killing 1 officers, wounding civilians

DIFFA, Niger – Witnesses say a suspected jihadist suicide bomber has detonated his explosives in southeastern Niger, killing at least one person.

Aboubacar Halilou said Sunday that when he came out of his house in the town of Diffa at around 8 a.m. he saw four young men in long traditional gowns holding their stomachs near the police station.

Halilou said that when a police officer approached the men, one of them exploded himself. Officers shot dead a second suspected jihadist and captured the two others.

Halilou said it was not immediately clear how many civilians were wounded.

Members of the Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram have repeatedly struck the town of Diffa in neighboring Niger over the past year.