Three suspected members of the Islamist militants, Boko Haram sect have been arrested in neighboring Niger on Tuesday after they attacked an army patrol in the eastern region of Diffa, government and military sources said. Diffa, some 1,400 km east of Niger's capital Niamey, borders the Nigerian state of Borno, the epicenter of Boko Haram's uprising. The arid region has received tens of thousands of refugees from the fighting and local Niger officials have repeatedly voiced concerns over Boko Haram infiltration.
"An army patrol fell into a trap set by Boko Haram militants at Rouda, in the Chetimari commune of Diffa," a government source told Reuters. "The fighting lasted about an hour and the arrival of army reinforcements allowed us to take three prisoners, one of whom was wounded."
