TheIslamic State (IS) groupclaimed responsibility for adeadly attackon the airport inNiger's capital Niamey in a statement on Friday, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity and communications worldwide.
The claim of responsibility was contained in a statement on Amaq News Agency, the group's propaganda wing, that said it was a surprise and coordinated attack that inflicted heavy losses.
The IS group's affiliate in the region has been linked tohigh-profileattacks inNigerin recent months, killing over a 120 people in strikes targeting the Tillaberi region in September and abducting an American pilot in October.
Niger's government said in a statement that the attackers arrived on motorcycles and security forces quickly repelled their advance, killing 20 of the attackers and arresting 11 others.
Material losses at the airport included a stash of ammunition that caught fire, the government said, and several civilian airplanes that were damaged.
Read moreGunfire and explosions heard near airport in Nigers capital, residents say
Niger has struggled to contain deadly jihadist violence that has battered parts of Africas Sahel region, where neighbouringBurkina FasoandMalialso are run by military juntas.
In 2025,al Qaedaand IS group-backed militants escalated their campaigns in the Sahel, further threatening the stability of the fragile region and of Niger, which was the key security ally of the West in the region until a 2023 military coup.
Niger state television reported that one of the assailants killed was a French national, as footage showed several bloodied bodies on the ground. It provided no evidence.
Nigers military leader has accused the presidents of France, Benin and Ivory Coast of supporting the armed group behind the attack.
Since seizing power, Nigers military rulers along with those in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso have cut ties with France and other Western powers and turned to Russia for military support to fight insurgencies.
The juntas also regularly accuse the presidents of Benin and Ivory Coast, two West African countries that maintain close relations with France, of acting as proxies for Paris.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AP)
Originally published on France24
