Niger Rep. police arrests five Boko Haram suspects

Niger has arrested five people near the
Nigerian border suspected of belonging to
the militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko
Haram, Niger security officials said on
Tuesday.
The group has been blamed for more than 1,000
deaths in Nigeria since 2010. Observers say
they suspect it is using Niger as a transit route
to link up with other militant groups like Al-
Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb, now controlling
northern Mali.
“State Security Police arrested the five
suspected Boko Haram members who entered
Niger on Sunday through the Zinder region. They
have been transferred to Niamey for further
questioning,” a security official said, asking not
to be named told Reuters.
Another security official said Niger had
heightened security along its border with Nigeria
as the country intensifies its fight against the
militant group, which wants to carve out an
Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
Nigeria’s military had announced the death of
35 members of Boko Haram and arrested
several during an overnight gun battle in
Damaturu, capital of northeastern Yobe state
which borders Niger.