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U.S. Diplomat Said Killed By Thieves In Niger
NIAMEY (AFP) - Thieves wielding automatic rifles shot two Americans, believed to be U.S. diplomats, in Niger's capital Niamey overnight, witnesses and a private radio station said Saturday.
The radio station, Anfani, said one of the victims had been killed and the other badly wounded.
There was no official confirmation as police declined to comment and U.S. embassy officials could not be contacted.
The radio station said both men worked for the U.S. embassy, without giving a source. The identities of the victims were not known.
One witness said that three gunmen had jumped the pair after they left La Cloche, a city center bar popular with expatriates, at around 1:00 am (midnight GMT), opening fire at once.
The gunfire tore one of the victim's arms off and the other was hit in the neck, according to the witness, who works for a radio station.
"I heard several bursts of shooting and then one of the bandits pointed a Kalashnikov at us," he said. "We put our hands up and they fled towards the far bank of the [Niger] river with the Americans' vehicle."
"The bodies lay still in the street for quite a while until a group of marines took them away," he added.
There was still a pool of blood at the scene of the reported attack, opposite the Air Afrique offices in the city on Saturday morning.
In the past three months, Niamey has been hit by a wave of armed crime that has caused panic. The offices, shops and homes of business people have been attacked and gunmen have stolen numerous vehicles.
On Thursday, three thieves shot dead the cash clerk at an Elf service station, one of the biggest in the capital, when he refused to hand over the day's takings.
Niamey police earlier this month announced they had dismantled a network of armed gangs and arrested a dozen of their chiefs.
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