国际英语新闻:25 people killed, 30 injured in suicide attacks in Niger

NIAMEY, May 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 people were killed and 30 others injured in twin suicide attacks on Thursday on a military base and a plant run by French nuclear giant Areva in northern Niger, according to the Nigerien defense chief.

Defense Minister Karidjo Mahamadou said 20 Nigerien soldiers and five assailants died in an attack on the military barracks in Agadez, the main town in northern Niger, and in another raid on a factory owned by Somair, a subsidiary of the French group Areva in Arlit, further north in the West African country.

The attacks also left 30 people injured including 16 military personnel and 14 civilians, Mahamadou added.

"This Thursday, at around 5:30 a.m. (local time), two groups of individuals armed with explosives on board Toyota 4x4, simultaneously assaulted the Agadez military barracks and the factory of the Somair mining company, with the firm determination to carry out attacks there," the defense minister said in a communique.

"The terrorist attacks launched by kamikazes were contained by the elements of our Armed Forces who, despite the losses, neutralized the assailants including those who exploded themselves, " the communique said.

In Agadez, 20 military personnel and three assailants were killed and 16 people injured. In Arlit, two attackers died and 14 civilians were injured.

The defense minister linked the twin attacks to the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), a group allied with Al-Qaida's North African branch AQIM in their nine-month occupation of northern Mali.

"The situation is under control and the search for other assailants is ongoing. The development of events will be made known to the public," the communique said.

A three-day national mourning will be observed across the entire national territory starting on Thursday, according to the announcement.

"The Nigerien Armed Forces reaffirm their engagement to defend and protect Niger and its people, whatever the price to pay," the minister said.

The attacks were the first since the crisis erupted in neighboring Mali in March 2012, when the military seized power in a coup and rebels including AQIM and MUJAO swept through northern Mali soon afterwards.

With the backing of Mali's former colonial power France and allied African troops, the rebels have been largely driven out of the desert north since January 2013, although they are still capable of launching suicide attacks occasionally.

French interests have become top targets in attacks by Al-Qaida linked rebels, who vow to retaliate for the French military intervention in northern Mali.

AQIM has been active in Africa's Sahara-Sahel region in recent years. It launched a suicide bomb attack near the French Embassy in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott in August 2009. It is also held responsible for a series of kidnappings in Sahel countries including Niger.