Suicide Bombings in Niger Kill 20, Spark International Controversy

20 were killed in Niger on Thursday, after radical militants set off two car bombs on an army base and a French uranium mine and took a number of officers hostage.

According to AFP, Islamist group The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, (MUJAO) has taken responsibility for the attacks, saying it was an act of revenge against Niger's participation in France's fight with militants in neighboring country Mali.

MUJAO spokesperson Abu Walid Sahraoui told the AFP that, "Thanks to Allah, we have carried out two operations against the enemies of Islam in Niger. We attacked France and Niger for its cooperation with France in the war against sharia (Islamic law)."

MUJAO gained control of the northern region of Mali in 2012, before French troops drove them out of the area. Now, the group has taken up issue with the Europeans who shooed them away by staging suicide car bombings at the Agadez army base and the French uranium mine in Arlit.

The first bomb was detonated at dawn at the army base in northern Niger. 18 soldiers, one civilian and four attackers were instantly killed at the base, according to Interior Minister Abdou Labo, who spoke with the AFP.

"A fifth bomber has locked himself up in an office with several trainee officers as hostages (at Agadez)," Labo said. "We are taking action to arrest the bomber and free the hostages."

Almost 30 minutes following the first attack, another bomber set off explosives hidden in a four-by-four vehicle at the Somair uranium mine and processing facility-a business owned partly by France's Areva, and by SOPAMIN, an agency that oversees Niger's mining investments.

Some officials said that one person was killed at the mine, and 14 more were severely wounded. Other reports indicate that around 50 people were hurt by the bomb. Almost all of them were members of security.

Barka Sofa, who lives in the city of Agadez, said that the military had gone into manhunt mode to find the attackers.

"All the streets of Agadez are blocked," he told the AFP. "The army is sweeping the city."

French President Francois Hollande responded to the attacks by claiming that France would support Niger in its efforts to stop terrorist acts.

"We will not intervene in Niger as we did in Mali," he said, "but we have the same willingness to cooperate to fight against terrorism."

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