Niger’s army announced that it killed 10 Islamist militants during an attack on one of its positions in the southeastern Diffa region bordering Nigeria on Saturday.

Niger’s defence ministry, in a statement, said provisional figures were “three vehicles destroyed, another abandoned, ten bodies found”.

The shootout happened early Saturday morning when “enemy elements” in seven vehicles attacked the military post in the village of Chetima Wangou, near the Nigerian border.

The swift and decisive reaction of the troops at the post “made it possible to repel the attack and rout the enemy,” the statement said, adding that there were no army casualties.

An operation was underway to find the attackers who managed to flee the scene.

Chetima Wangou has often been the target of attacks by jihadist groups, including Boko Haram since 2015, though it had enjoyed several months of calm before Saturday’s action.

The latest attack was the work of fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which split from Boko Haram in 2016, the army said.

Niger also faces regular and deadly attacks by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State in the west, near the Mali and Burkina Faso borders.