NIAMEY, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Niger's government said on Saturday four soldiers were missing and three injured after Tuareg-led rebels attacked a civilian convoy with a military escort in the north. The rebel Niger Justice Movement (MNJ) said it had killed 15 soldiers and taken four prisoners, including an army lieutenant, in the attack on Friday on the road from the regional capital Agadez to the town of Arlit, towards the border with Algeria.

The MNJ frequently exaggerates the death tolls from its attacks.

The rebels demand greater autonomy and government revenues for the uranium-producing north of Niger. They said in a statement on their Web site (m-n-j.blogspot.com) that anyone travelling by road to or from Agadez did so at their own risk.

The MNJ has killed at least 45 soldiers since launching its uprising in February, often using landmines on isolated roads.

President Mamadou Tandja's government refuses to recognise the group and attributes the violence in the isolated, desert north to banditry and smuggling.

Niger, a overwhelmingly Muslim country, holds public funerals for its soldiers. (Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Robert Woodward)

AlertNet news is provided by