NIAMEY, NIGER - The Niger defence ministry said on Tuesday that at least 15 soldiers had been killed Monday during combat near the border with Burkina Faso. “On Monday July 22, a unit of the defence and security forces exchanged fire with armed terrorist groups along the Bankilare-Tera route near the village of Foneko”, it said in a communique read on state television, announcing a “preliminary toll” of 15 dead. The ministry also said three soldiers were missing with 16 injured and hospitalised, adding that 21 “terrorists” had been killed in the clashes in the western region of Tillaberi.