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West Africa is suffering from a surge in attacks by the JNIM, the Islamic State group and other jihadist militias, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, where a series of military coups have coincided with severe instability.
The violence has increasingly spread into northern Benin and Togo in recent years.
Army spokesman Colonel James Johnson told AFP Wednesday’s raid had also left five soldiers wounded, “whose lives are not in danger”.
A military source deployed to the region had earlier told AFP the attack left a “heavy human toll”, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“We are currently sweeping the area,” the source said.
Experts say the JNIM, Al-Qaeda’s branch for the Sahel region of Africa, is increasingly recruiting members among the local population.
It has spread into countries along the Gulf of Guinea, where it blends religious proselytising with logistics operations and periodic attacks — though without controlling large swathes of territory, as it does in the Sahel.
According to a UN Security Council report last month, the JNIM recently appointed an emir for Benin.