Niger holds funeral for security officials killed by Al-Qaeda

Niger has held a ceremony in honour of security officials who were killed by militants of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on Thursday.

The ceremony was attended by relatives of the victims and government officials.

Three policemen were killed in an attack near its porous borders with Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali while a soldier was killed in an attack attributed to Boko Haram, a Nigeria-based Islamist group.

#Niger votes
Opposition leader from prison to France + Funeral of officer killed by kamikazehttps://t.co/qyrG5NgGvp pic.twitter.com/ayXODICgXH

— francesco strazzari (@franxstrax) March 19, 2016

The West African country has been a target of numerous attacks by Boko Haram. The insurgent group has launched cross-border attacks killing many people.

Nevertheless, Niger has made efforts in tackling insecurity to counter the risk of Islamist incursions from its neighbours.

The attacks comes days before voters head to the polls on Sunday for a presidential runoff. President Mahamadou Issoufou is looking to secure a second term in office while opposition candidate Hama Amadou has been evacuated from prison for medical treatment in France.