11 soldiers, 22 terrorists killed in airport attack

A report from the military government of Niger says that 11 soldiers and 22 terrorists died early Thursday morning during an attack at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the capital city.

This announcement was picked up by PREMIUM TIMES and was first reported by the DW Hausa Service. The report also mentioned that two civilians were killed in the attack.

The assault started near the main entrance of the airport. This forced security forces to block off the area and put the capital on high alert.

Some residents said that the Nigerien army managed to repel the morning attack. Military forces then searched the nearby areas to find the attackers, who reportedly left behind a stash of weapons as they fled.

The military government has not yet released an official statement. No group has claimed responsibility for the airport attack, but a similar incident happened at the same airport in January this year.

In January, armed militants linked to the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS-Sahel) carried out a coordinated attack using motorcycles, mortars, and drones. They targeted the civilian terminal and the nearby Air Base 101, which is important for the country’s military operations.

That incident led to a fierce battle. Nigerien forces, with support from Russian Africa Corps fighters, managed to kill several militants and capture others. However, the attackers destroyed military equipment, including aircraft, and heavily damaged several commercial planes on the tarmac.

Niger has been facing a serious militant Islamist insurgency for more than ten years. Like its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is now run by a military junta that took over, promising to end the ongoing violence.

Niger is at the center of a complicated war against violent extremism that has affected the broader Sahel region since around 2010. The country deals with different insurgent groups.

In the west, close to Mali and Burkina Faso, it fights IS-Sahel and the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM. In the southeast, near Lake Chad, it battles Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).