Islamic State group offshoot claims 2017 Niger attack on US

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — An Islamic State group Sahara offshoot is claiming it carried out the October attack in Niger that killed four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien troops.

The Mauritanian Nouakchott News Agency reported Friday that the self-professed IS affiliate Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi claimed responsibility for the Oct. 4 attack about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niger's capital, Niamey.

The news agency has carried messages from the affiliate before, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist websites.

The news agency says the extremists also claimed responsibility for an attack Thursday on a French military convoy, and for a series of attacks in Niger and border areas with Mali and Burkina Faso.