'14 dead' in Niger clash with pro-Kadhafi Tuaregs

NIAMEY (AFP) - A clash between Niger troops and an armed group that included Malian Tuaregs formerly allied to slain Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi left at least 14 dead, security sources said Thursday.

The incident took place on Sunday in northern Niger and was first reported on Tuesday, when the west African country's defence ministry did not identify the gunmen and only spoke of one dead soldier.

"These armed elements were mainly pro-Kadhafi Malian Tuaregs returning from Libya and on their way to Mali," a Niger security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"There were 13 killed and 13 captured among their ranks," said the official.

The defence ministry had said on Tuesday that one soldier was also killed in the November 6 skirmish.

A local official in the northern city of Agadez said fugitive Libyan fighters may also have been among the group.

"We think there could be some of Kadhafi's former troops who are attempting to flee into Mali with some of the Malians who fought alongside them," said another local Tuareg leader.

He said the incident took place near the town of Assamaka, a few miles away from Niger's borders with Algeria and Mali.

The area is known to have harboured operatives of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which experts warn has sought to benefit from the recent chaos in Libya to acquire weapons from Kadhafi's arsenal.

The Niger military said after Sunday's clash that it had confiscated assault rifles, automatic weapons and RPG rockets.

Hundreds of Malian and Nigerien Tuaregs who served in Kadhafi's army and fought alongside his loyalists this year have been crossing the desert to return to the bastions of the rebellions the former Libyan strongman once supported.