About 15 assailants were killed during a “terrorist” attack last week in the north of #Togo that also killed eight soldiers, its security minister has said.
Togo’s troops are deployed in the north of the country to contain a security threat pushing south from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger where groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) operate.
Togo’s troops are deployed in the north of the country to contain a security threat pushing south from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger where groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) operate.
Seven children were killed in a suspected terrorist explosion in northern #Togo in the night from Saturday to Sunday, local media reported.
"A rescue team was immediately dispatched to the scene," said Motaog Radio and Television in Dapaong, the town where the explosion occurred.
The local radio quoted a victim's parent as saying he was shocked and that he heard "a loud explosion never heard before."
He discovered children's bodies lying on the ground which he said were difficult to identify.
No official source has yet commented on the incident.
The incident may join a list of terrorist attacks seen in recent months in the West African country, which had previously been spared.
On June 16, an attack was foiled in the Gnoaga and Gouloungoushi townships, on the border shared by Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso in the far north.
An attack on the night of May 10 left eight soldiers dead and 13 wounded. An Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group claimed responsibility for it three weeks later, according to the Site Intelligence Group, an American NGO which tracks extremist threats online.
"Once these attacks start, they don't stop," Joseph Mensah-Boboe, the publisher of online media outlet Imagine Demain, told Anadolu Agency. "This is a new terrorist action despite the strong security method of the government, which has established a state of emergency and its corollaries. This situation is worrying." https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/suspected-terrorist-explosion-in-northern-togo-kills-7-children/2634404
"A rescue team was immediately dispatched to the scene," said Motaog Radio and Television in Dapaong, the town where the explosion occurred.
The local radio quoted a victim's parent as saying he was shocked and that he heard "a loud explosion never heard before."
He discovered children's bodies lying on the ground which he said were difficult to identify.
No official source has yet commented on the incident.
The incident may join a list of terrorist attacks seen in recent months in the West African country, which had previously been spared.
On June 16, an attack was foiled in the Gnoaga and Gouloungoushi townships, on the border shared by Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso in the far north.
An attack on the night of May 10 left eight soldiers dead and 13 wounded. An Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group claimed responsibility for it three weeks later, according to the Site Intelligence Group, an American NGO which tracks extremist threats online.
"Once these attacks start, they don't stop," Joseph Mensah-Boboe, the publisher of online media outlet Imagine Demain, told Anadolu Agency. "This is a new terrorist action despite the strong security method of the government, which has established a state of emergency and its corollaries. This situation is worrying." https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/suspected-terrorist-explosion-in-northern-togo-kills-7-children/2634404
Anadolu Agency
Suspected terrorist explosion in northern Togo kills 7 children
Explosion may join list of terrorist attacks recently, and is second one to be deadly
Armed men killed at least 12 civilians in overnight raids on villages in northern #Togo, where Islamist militants have staged several recent attacks, two local activists and a medical source said on Friday.