Boko Haram mine kills two soldiers in southeast Niger - ministry

NIAMEY (Reuters) - A mine planted by Islamist militant group Boko Haram killed at least two soldiers on Tuesday in the town of Bosso in Niger's southeastern region of Diffa, Niger's defence ministry said. It was the first time Niger has accused the insurgents of planting a mine in recent fighting around Diffa. Niger, Cameroon and Chad have launched a regional military campaign to help Nigeria battle Boko Haram, a group that began its fight for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria six years ago and has recently stepped up cross-border attacks. "At around 0930 (0830 GMT) a patrol of the defence and security forces rolled over a mine planted by Boko Haram in the town of Bosso. The toll is two soldiers killed and four others wounded," a defence ministry statement said. The African Union authorised the combined Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin force last month and it is also pushing for a U.N. Security Council mandate. In a separate attack, a teenage girl blew herself up at a crowded bus station in the northeastern Nigerian town of Potiskum, killing at least 15 people and wounding 53 in the second such attack there this week. (Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalaki; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Louise Ireland)