US embassy employee killed in Niger

The United States embassy in Niger says an American Defence Department employee has been killed during an attempted robbery.

The embassy said that a retired army master sergeant, William Bultemeier, was leaving a restaurant in the capital, Niamey, with a group of American embassy personnel when they were confronted by two gunmen.

The victim had been at the US embasy in Niger for five months and was leading the effort to re-establish the US Department of Defence office at the embassy.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service