**Three Saudi tourists have been killed and three more wounded in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Niger, local officials say.**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 militants linked to al-Qaeda are active.
“Niger’s government deplores these barbarous acts that were unfortunately perpetrated on its territory, and offers its condolences to the Saudi government,” Communication Minister Kassoum Moctar said on state radio.
The six Saudis were reported to be travelling with two Malians.
Last December, a Canadian UN envoy to Niger and his aide were kidnapped north-west of Niamey, near the border with Mali.
The kidnapping was blamed on al-Qaeda’s North African wing, al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb.