French army said it killed close to 40 people in anti-terrorism strike in Niger

The French army said in a statement its Barkhane forces killed close to 40 people in an anti-terrorism strike in a the border region Niger with Burkina Faso on June 14. Armed men killed at least 100 civilians in a rural district of northern Burkina Faso close to the border with Niger over the weekend, a security source said.

The French army in Thursday's statement did not elaborate whether the strike was linked to the incident.