Five Niger soldiers were among those killed from the US-led patrol that also included American soldiers.
A diplomatic source in Niger confirmed the ambush and said the attackers are believed to have come from Mali.
It is unclear if any US soldiers were killed or injured at this stage.
Namatta Abubacar, a local official for the region of Tillaberi: “What is confirmed is that there are the bodies of five Niger soldiers and others seem to be missing but I cannot say whether there were US victims.”
Since June 2017 Islamist terror attacks in Mali have doubled, according to a United Nations (UN) report.
Militant groups have targeted Malian, French, and UN forces with th majority of the attacks traced back to the al-Qada affiliated Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM).
In June 2017, JNIM killed three UN peacekeepers and injured eight others in Kidal, Mali.
More to follow…