Seven children were killed in Niger as the Nigerian army launched an airstrike targeting "bandits", a local governor and state media announced on Monday.
The governor of Niger's Maradi region revealed that five more were injured in the apparently accidental strike. Nigerian officials asserted that an investigation had begun.
Governor Chaibou Aboubacar noted that four children were killed instantly and three died on their way to the hospital.
Moreover, Aboubacar said the victims' parents were attending a ceremony and "the children were probably playing" when the airstrikes hit them.
He claimed that the planes were targeting "armed bandits" in areas around the border between the two countries, but missed their target and hit Nachade, a village in Madarounfa.
Niger and Nigeria have been conducting joint military operations against armed gangs responsible for a wave of kidnappings and killings in the region.
On February 10, armed robbers attacked a bullion van in Ibadan, Nigeria, killing three police officers and four others.
The van was transporting money to a bank at Idi-Ape, in the east local government area of Oyo State, Ibadan North, according to the reports.
The armed robbers, who were said to have been dressed in police uniform, trailed the vehicle to Idi-Ape and, tried unsuccessfully to intercept it at the area.
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