Three Saudi tourists have been killed and three others injured after they were attacked by unidentified gunmen in Niger, officials there say.

尼日尔发生不明身份持枪歹徒袭击游客事件，三名沙特游客被杀、另有三人受伤。

The Saudis were travelling by car to Mali and were attacked near the border, according to a government spokesman.

The three Saudis who were wounded were taken to hospital in the capital, Niamey, he said.

The attack was reported near Djambala, where both Tuareg rebels and militants¹ linked to al-Qaeda are active.

Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled bin² Saud told Al-Arabiya TV that the tourists were assaulted after they stopped to perform morning prayers.

He said that though al-Qaeda was present in the area, there was no proof the group was involved.

"It appears to us so far that it was a robbery," he said.

Mauritania claim

Niger's Communication Minister Kassoum Moctar condemned³ the attack on state radio.

"Niger's government deplores⁴哀叹，悲悼 these barbarous残暴的，野蛮的 acts that were unfortunately perpetrated犯罪，作恶 on its territory, and offers its condolences哀悼，慰问 to the Saudi government," he said.

Mr Moctar was also quoted as saying that police had found two Malians who had been escorting护送，陪同 the Saudis with their hands tied behind their backs in a nearby village.

Police and army forces had been deployed⁵ to hunt for the assailants攻击者, he said.

Last December, a Canadian UN envoy⁶ to Niger and his aide were kidnapped north-west of Niamey, also near the border with Mali.

The kidnapping was claimed by al-Qaeda's North African wing, al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb, though Niger's president blamed it on Tuareg rebels.

On Monday, the al-Qaeda branch - which is based in Algeria but has been active in the north-west African Sahel region - also claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of two Italians in Mauritania earlier this month.

Italy said the claim was "plausible貌似真实的".