(Reuters) - Seven soldiers were killed by attackers suspected of being Islamist militants in northern Benin's Pendjari National Park, two security sources and two diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
The Beninois soldiers were killed in an ambush, said the sources, two of whom said it took place near the town of Tanguieta.
Benin's northern neighbours are insurgency-plagued Burkina Faso and Niger, making it vulnerable to cross-border attacks by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
In April, unidentified gunmen attacked a border crossing with Niger, killing three people and wounding one, a local mayor said.
Benin's army has not officially communicated on Tuesday's incident and its spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by David Lewis; Additional reporting by Pulcherie Adjoha in Cotonou; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by David Gregorio)
