Gunmen launched an early-morning assault on Niamey airport in Niger on Thursday, killing at least 35 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State in the Sahel. The strike on the West African country's biggest airport marks the second such assault on the facility this year.
Islamic State in the Sahel claimed responsibility for the coordinated assault, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications worldwide. The group's propaganda arm, Amaq news agency, described the attack as a "surprise and coordinated" strike that began shortly after midnight. Motorcycle-riding militants used heavy weaponry and drones in the operation, which targeted both the international airport and the adjacent air force base located about 6 miles from the presidential palace.
The gunfire and explosions damaged at least three planes at the airport. The aircraft belonged to Ivorian carrier Air Côte d'Ivoire and two planes operated by Togolese airline Asky. An Asky source said the airline's staff had remained in their hotel away from the attack scene, with their passports still held by authorities.
Nigerien government authorities said security forces quickly repelled the attackers' advance, killing 20 gunmen and arresting 11 others. A stash of ammunition also caught fire during the confrontation. The regional Islamic State affiliate has been linked to high-profile attacks in Niger in recent months, including strikes in the Tillabéri region in September that killed more than 120 people, and the abduction of an American pilot in October.
The assault comes as Niger, led by a military junta since the overthrow of democratically elected Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023, continues to face security challenges across the country. General Abdourahmane Tchiani, the junta's leader, used the attack to make a statement aimed at neighboring countries in the regional Economic Community of West African States and former colonial ruler France. Speaking on national television, Tchiani said: "We have heard them bark, they should be ready to hear us roar."
Since the coup, Niger has withdrawn from ECOWAS and joined fellow junta-led states Burkina Faso and Mali in forming the Association of Sahel States, which has issued its own passports and established regional financial institutions. The junta has previously blamed security chaos on its neighbors Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as France, without presenting supporting evidence.
The Niamey airport attack occurred around the same time as a separate drone assault by Islamic State West Africa Province on the Sabon Gari army base in Nigeria's Borno state, which left at least nine soldiers dead and others wounded. Niger has battled a militant Islamist insurgency for a decade, with repeated targeting of major infrastructure demonstrating the persistent threat posed by militant groups operating in the Sahel region.