Seven Foraco employees and one civil servant were killed in the early hours of yesterday morning when a group of terrorists attacked the company’s camp in the southeast Diffa region of Niger.

An additional five employees were injured, with two in “serious condition,” the French drilling company said in a statement on Thursday.

According to Foraco, the building where its employees were sleeping was chosen by the commander of the company’s military escort, which was providing security for employees.

The company said it is currently working with authorities to evacuate the wounded employees to the closest hospital for medical attention. It said it would set up support for the victims' families, but did not specify what that would be.

Foraco was contracted by the Niger Ministry of Water to drill two deep water wells for a refugee camp in village of Toumour, close to the Nigerian border.

The terrorist group Boko Haram is active near the border, and a security source told Reuters the attackers are believed to be members of that group.

In 2016, 30 Boko Haram members and five Nigerien soldiers were killed in a clash near Toumour.