Several hundred armed men, many on motorbikes, attacked a Niger army base near the border with Mali, leaving at least 34 soldiers dead and 14 wounded, the Defence Ministry said.

The attackers - described as "mercenaries" by the ministry - used eight vehicles and more than 200 motor-bikes in the raid on the base in Bani-bangou on Thursday, according to the statement read out on state TV.

It did not say which group was responsible. Niger, like other countries in West Africa's Sahel region, is battling militant groups s linked to al Qaeda and the DAESH group.

Troops carried out aerial and ground search operations to secure the area after the attack, the ministry said without going into more detail on the assault.

RELATEDTRT Global - Niger withdraws from Lake Chad Multinational Joint Task Force