Suicide attacker takes Niger cadets hostage

Niger's interior minister says that a suicide attacker, who penetrated a military garrison in the city of Agadez, has taken several cadets hostage.

Minister of the Interior Abdou Labo said by telephone that the attacker is draped in an explosive belt and is threatening to blow himself up. He said authorities are negotiating with him.

The attacker survived the initial assault on the camp earlier Thursday, which killed 20 Niger army soldiers and three jihadists.

The car bombing in Agadez occurred at the same time as a suicide attack on a mine operated by French nuclear giant Areva in the Nigerien city of Arlit. Thirteen employees of the mine were injured. The al-Qaida spinoff, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, claimed responsibility for the attack.