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French army seizes drugs, weapons after gunfight with militants in Niger

French troops made the find after men in two trucks opened fire on their checkpoint, kicking off a gun battle.

By Fred Lambert

MADAMA, Niger, May 19 (UPI) -- The French military says it seized over a ton of drugs and a cache of weapons in northeastern Niger following a firefight with militants at a checkpoint.

The incident occurred last week in North Africa's Sahel region, a semi-arid strip of land stretching between the Sahara Desert and vegetated areas to the south. Analysts say the area contains trafficking routes vital to militant groups across the continent.

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Nigerien and French forces exchanged fire with militants in two trucks that failed to stop at a checkpoint near the Libyan border, the French military said.

Troops killed three militants and captured another three before finding the vehicles reportedly contained up to 1.5 tons of drugs and a cache of weapons.

France deployed military forces to North Africa in early 2013 to combat al-Qaida forces who had overrun portions of Mali.

Last December the French military said it killed a senior jihadist leader in the country.

The killing -- along with the May 14 firefight and drug find -- was a part of Operation Barkhane, a French-led effort established in August 2014 to counter extremism in the region. Nations participating in the operation include Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.

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