Gunmen have kidnapped an American aid worker in Niger.

Officials say two of the worker’s guards were killed in a confrontation with the gunmen Friday night.

Authorities say the attackers took the American to neighboring Mali.  That country’s long, porous border has been vulnerable to armed violence in recent years.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the abduction.

No U.S. citizen had been kidnapped before in Niger where such a seizure of foreigners is rare.

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said an investigation is under way, but did not give further details.
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