ISIL claims responsibility for Niger airport attack

Claim comes after military ruler Abdourahamane Tiani accused France, Benin, Ivory coast of involvement in the attack.

The ISIL (ISIS) armed group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an air force base at Niger’s main airport.

The ISIL-affiliated Amaq News Agency reported on Friday that the group carried out a “surprise and coordinated attack” on the base at Diori Hamani International Airport near the capital, Niamey. It claimed the attack caused “significant damage”, without providing more details.

The military government, which took power in a 2023 coup, said security forces killed 20 attackers in fighting after the attack, which took place shortly after midnight on Thursday. Four army soldiers were wounded in the violence.

Niger’s authorities have been fighting ISIL affiliate Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) and the al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) in the west and southeast of the country for a decade.

The ISIL affiliate has been linked to high-profile attacks in Niger in recent months, killing more than 120 people in the Tillaberi region in September and abducting a US pilot in October.

On Thursday, military ruler General Abdourahamane Tiani thanked Russian troops stationed at the base for “defending their sector”, confirming his nation’s growing ties with Moscow, which has provided military support to tackle the armed rebellion.

Tiani also accused France, Benin and Ivory Coast of sponsoring the attack, without offering any evidence, saying on state television that the three countries “should be ready to hear us roar.”

Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, a spokesman for Benin’s government, rejected the allegation.

“He is the only one to believe that nonsense,” he said on Friday.

Niamey’s airport, located about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the presidential palace, hosts military bases and the headquarters of the Niger-Burkina Faso-Mali Joint Force for battling armed groups.

The three countries, all run by military governments, have joined forces in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), turning away from the West – notably, France and alleged proxies in the region – as they pivot towards Russia.

The airport is also home to a large uranium stockpile at the centre of a nationalisation dispute with French state-affiliated nuclear company Orano.

Niger state television reported on Thursday that one of the killed assailants was a French national, without providing evidence.