Author Topic: BREAKING: Bombs explode outside military camp and French-run uranium site in northern Niger  (Read 2706 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
from twitter feed only:

BBC Breaking News ‏@BBCBreaking 4m

Bombs explode outside military camp and French-run uranium site in northern Niger, officials say


That is all I can find on this at present.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22637084

Quote
Niger bombs target Areva mine and military camp
Breaking news

Two bombs have exploded at a military camp and a French-run uranium mine in two towns in northwestern Niger, officials say.

The bombers killed themselves and wounded a number of others in the attacks in the towns of Agadez and Arlit, Reuters reported.

French group Areva said 13 people at the uranium plant in Arlit were hurt.

Niger's government blamed Mujao, a jihadist group from neighbouring Mali, French radio said.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
Arise Africa ‏@arafrika 3m

#News: Suicide bomb kills staff of French Nuclear Reactor Maker, Areva at its Somair Mine in Northern Arlit. #Niger #Africa #Mining #France
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
ABC news, from the AP feed: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/simultaneous-car-bomb-attacks-niger-19239449#.UZ3bD8q3TTs

Simultaneous Car Bomb Attacks in Niger
 
By Dm-aos
NIAMEY, Niger May 23, 2013 (AP)

Attackers in Niger detonated two car bombs, one in the city of Agadez where a military barracks was targeted and one in Arlit where a French company operates a uranium mine, injuring more than a dozen people.

Paris-based Areva said in a statement that 13 employees were hurt in the attack in Arlit, in the northern part of Niger where armed Islamic extremists have carried out attacks.

Witnesses said the vehicle carrying the explosives in Agadez blew up in front of the military barracks.

"We heard a strong detonation that woke the whole neighborhood, it was so powerful," said Abdoulaye Harouna, a resident of Agadez. "The whole town is now surrounded by soldiers looking for the attackers."
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
Via Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/23/us-niger-attacks-idUSBRE94M09N20130523

Quote
Two suicide bombers strike in northern Niger towns

By Abdoulaye Massalatchi

NIAMEY | Thu May 23, 2013 4:29am EDT

(Reuters) - Two suicide bombers struck on Thursday at a military barracks and a plant run by French nuclear group Areva in northern Niger, military and company sources said.

The bombers killed themselves and wounded at least four people in the attacks in the towns of Agadez and Arlit, the sources said.

They were the first suicide attacks in Niger since a French-led offensive in January to oust Islamist rebels from neighboring northern Mali, in which the Nigerien army is participating as part of a West African force. Islamists in Mali have carried out a spate of suicide attacks in recent months.

"A suicide bomber in a four-wheel-drive vehicle broke through the entry barrier at Agadez military base on Thursday at around 5 a.m.," a military officer said. "Our soldiers opened fire on the bomber, who detonated his explosives. We have at least three wounded in our ranks."

An Areva employee, who asked not to be identified, said another bombing took place at around the same time in the northern mining town of Arlit at a factory owned by the Somair uranium mining company, operated by the French firm.

"He blew himself up and is the only person killed," the employee said. "There are some injured, included one seriously wounded person who has been taken to hospital."

A spokesman for Areva in Paris had no immediate comment.

(Additional reporting by Marion Douet in Paris; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
The BBC report linked in the first reply has been expanded.

The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
From TV5: http://www.tv5.org/cms/chaine-francophone/info/p-1911-Niger-le-nord-du-pays-frappe-par-un-double-attentat-a-la-voiture-piegee.htm?&rub=2&xml=newsmlmmd.9a72dea58ee9e80e6b5f380ea24d3f79.511.xml

Note, any translation errors are mine and mine alone. I put up the full text, since the original is in French.

Quote
A double car bombing aimed Thursday in northern Niger Agadez a military camp and a site of French nuclear group Areva in Arlit, in which at least one suicide bomber was killed and 13 people were injured.

This is the first attack of its kind in the history of the poor Sahelian country, engaged since early 2013 in neighboring Mali, alongside French and African troops against jihadist movements.

Areva immediately condemned the "terrorist attack" on its Arlit site.

"There was an explosion at the military camp of Agadez", told AFP Defense Minister Mahamadou Karidjo. "The explosion was caused by a vehicle packed with explosives," he said. "The attackers were neutralized," he said, adding: "These are redskins", referring to members of the Tuareg and Arab communities.

Sofa Barka, a resident of the largest city in Northern desert, spoke of "a loud explosion before the camp" to 5:00 am (0400 GMT), "followed by bursts of gunfire and with heavy weapons." Now, "all the streets are packed Agadez, the army raked the city," he reported.

About half an hour later, another vehicle exploded on a site of French nuclear group Areva in Arlit (240 km north of Agadez), said an employee of the Somaïr, a subsidiary of Areva uranium operator in area.

"A man in military fatigues driving a 4x4 vehicle packed with explosives was confused with workers Somaïr and was able to blow his load to the power plant of the uranium processing plant located 7 km of Arlit, "he said. "The company officials told us that the bomber died in the blast," he said on condition of anonymity.

Thirteen Areva, all Nigerians, were wounded, said the group, denouncing a "vicious attack" against its staff. In a statement, Areva said the injured were taken over by the local emergency services and announced increased security at its various sites, provided by Nigerian forces.

The company noted work "closely with the Nigerien and French authorities."

"Now, everything is calm in the city and the work has not stopped," he assured the employee Somaïr, citing "minor damage" on the site.

The Nigerian subsidiary of Areva Somaïr extract the uranium ore open pit mining at a depth of 50-70 meters from a deposit located 7 km northwest of the town of Arlit.

Niger has suffered in recent years several attacks and abductions by Islamist groups, particularly in the north.

Seven employees of Areva and a subcontractor were kidnapped Sept. 16, 2010 at Arlit by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Four French, Daniel Larribe, Thierry Dole, Marc Feret and Pierre Legrand, remain in the hands of their captors.

They are "alive", said recently the Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou on France 24, while the war in Mali to fear for the lives of French hostages in the Sahel. "But where are they? It is extremely difficult to say," he had recognized.

Niger is engaged in the African force in Mali (Misma), which is deployed as a result of the offensive launched in January by the French army.

The operation conducted by France in support of the Malian army, helped to regain northern Mali linked to al Qaeda groups who occupied since 2012, including committing multiple atrocities. In recent months, the Nigerian military has stepped up surveillance of its long border with Mali to prevent the infiltration of elements of Islamist groups from the country.

The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
Thomas Fessy ‏@bbcfessy 1h

#Niger Defense Minister tells me 17 soldiers killed in #Agadez suicide bomb attack, over 20 wounded incl civilians

It is a tweet, so pinch of salt please.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline alicewonders

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13,021
  • Gender: Female
  • Live life-it's too short to butt heads w buttheads
Thanks for keeping us posted on this EC.  A lot of jihad activity sourcing from Africa, sounds like the French have their hands full. 
Don't tread on me.   8888madkitty

We told you Trump would win - bigly!

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
My pleasure, alice.


RobbieScarff ‏@RobbieScarff 39s

"@BBCBreaking: Car bomb attack on army barracks in #Niger kills at least 17 soldiers, defence minister tells BBC" Will anyone care though?


I care.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline alicewonders

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13,021
  • Gender: Female
  • Live life-it's too short to butt heads w buttheads
My pleasure, alice.


RobbieScarff ‏@RobbieScarff 39s

"@BBCBreaking: Car bomb attack on army barracks in #Niger kills at least 17 soldiers, defence minister tells BBC" Will anyone care though?


I care.

Those of us who care have quite a task before us.  Prayers for those on the front lines. 
Don't tread on me.   8888madkitty

We told you Trump would win - bigly!

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
Full story from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22637084

Quote
Niger suicide bombers target Areva mine and barracks

Suicide bombers have struck a military camp and a French-run uranium mine in two towns in north-west Niger.

A bomb at a barracks in Agadez killed 19, including 18 soldiers. Four attackers died. A fifth held out but officials said he too was overpowered.

The attack on the Somair mine, in the town of Arlit, killed one person and injured 14, its operator Areva said.

Reports say militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar was behind the attacks, but these cannot be verified.

The Mauritanian news agency Alakhbar quoted a spokesman for his group as saying: "It was Belmokhtar who himself supervised the operational plans of attacks."

The claims also appeared on a jihadist forum, AP news agency reported.

Earlier, the jihadist Mujao group had said it had carried out the two attacks.

Much more at link. I particularly recommend the Analysis side bar about half way down the article. Tom Fessy knows his stuff.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink