According to the army's weekly bulletin broadcast Saturday on national television, the first clash took place on Wednesday near Doubalma in the Dosso region, when a patrol from Soukoukoutane was attacked by about 50 armed terrorists on motorcycles, Xinhua reported.
The army said its forces, backed by air support, killed at least 22 assailants and wounded many others, while the remaining attackers fled toward the Malian border. Seven soldiers were killed and two others wounded in the ambush, it added.
On Friday, another air-land operation targeted a group of terrorists on motorcycles transporting stolen livestock near Mangaize in the Tillabery region, the army said. The operation killed at least 12 terrorists, destroyed six motorcycles, and enabled the recovery of all stolen livestock.