The attack occurred early in the afternoon as people were attending a prayer service at the mosque, the ministry statement said. Another 13 people were wounded.

Niger’s government three days of mourning after 44 civilians were killed in the country’s southwest by “terrorists” belonging to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara group.

The victims were killed in a “savage” attack on a mosque in the Fambita quarter of the rural town of Kokorou, the interior ministry said in a statement broadcast on state television. It said another 13 people were wounded.

The attack occurred early in the afternoon as people were attending a prayer service at the mosque, the ministry statement said.

“The heavily armed terrorists surrounded the mosque to carry out their massacre with unusual cruelty,” it said, adding that the attackers also set fire to a local market and homes. The ministry vowed to hunt down the perpetrators and put them on trial.

The attack occurred in an area close to the borders with Burkina Faso and Mali – a region in which jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda have been active for years.

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The military of Niger’s junta-run government frequently fights jihadists in the region, and civilians are often victims in the violence.

Since July 2023, at least 2,400 people have been killed in Niger, according to the database of the ACLED, a non-governmental organisation that gives armed conflict location and event data.