The sources said that the attackers intercepted on Sunday the bus in which the victims were traveling, forced them to disembark and shot them.

The attack, on which Niger authorities kept silent, occurs a few days after France announced the transfer to Niger of its troops stationed in Mali since 2013 following the worsening of the conflict with the military junta ruling that African country.

Malian authorities accused France of using its armed contingent to divide the country.

Several Islamist groups loyal to the Al Qaeda network and the Islamic State operate in Niger, and Paris has a special interest in this African country from whose mines it extracts part of the uranium it uses in its nuclear activities.

pgh/iff/rgh/msl