Aanvallers Algerijnse gasfabriek nu in Niger

An al Qaeda-linked group that carried out the raid on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria in January has claimed to have participated in Thursday's attacks in Niger. A statement posted on the internet on Friday was signed by Khalid Abu al-Abbas, better known as Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a leading figure in al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

At least 21 people were killed and dozens wounded in coordinated dawn assaults on a uranium mine run by French company Areva at Arlit and the military base in Agadez, Niger, on Thursday. The statement said the raid was a response to Niger's participation in operations in neighboring Mali and claims by Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou that the Islamists had been defeated.

"This is the first of our responses to the statement of the president of Niger - from his masters in Paris - that he eliminated jihad and the mujahideen militarily," it read.