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Attack at Niamey Airport
An attack by armed men on Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger, killed 11 soldiers and two civilians, authorities said on Thursday, with gunfire and explosions heard for hours around the airport complex.
“An attack by armed men on an airport in Niger’s capital has killed 11 soldiers and two civilians, authorities said, five months after a major assault”
Al Jazeera reported that a source said the gunmen arrived at a security checkpoint near the airport “by taxi” and then encountered “fierce resistance” from security forces.
Niger’s Defense Ministry said 22 armed attackers were also killed and about 20 suspects were apprehended, while a “large-scale operation” by the army was underway and the international airport “remains open to air traffic.”
The al-Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for a “suicide attack” on the airport and the adjacent military base, according to a statement posted on Chirpwire by its propaganda media foundation Az-Zallaqa late on Thursday.
The attack came months after an earlier assault on the same complex, when the Islamic State affiliate in the region claimed responsibility for an attack on January 29 that authorities said killed 20 fighters and wounded four soldiers.
Claimed Suicide Attack
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin said in a brief statement on its propaganda channel that it carried out “a suicide attack on Diori Hamani International Airport and the adjacent military base.”
The Nigerien Defense Ministry said security forces killed 22 of the attackers during the assault, and that clashes with militants who tried to infiltrate Diori Hamani International Airport killed 11 soldiers and two civilians.
The BBC said the fatalities comprised 22 assailants, 11 soldiers, and two civilians, and quoted Lawalli Tsalha describing hearing a loud bang “like something had exploded, perhaps a tyre.”
The BBC also reported that alongside the 22 attackers killed, another four were wounded and 20 suspects had been arrested, as security forces launched a manhunt after the violence settled by mid-morning.
In a separate statement, Niger’s civil aviation agency said normal operations at the airport had resumed, even as FlightRadar24 reported that many flights bound for Niamey were diverted or delayed.
Security, Uranium, and Rivalry
Niger’s airport has been described as one of the country’s most strategic military sites, hosting the G5 Sahel “counterterrorism” force, Russian forces, and the drone unit carrying out strikes against rebel groups.
Al Jazeera warned that uranium stocks Niger is seeking to sell are stored at the airport, adding that “Any strike on those facilities could pose a serious environmental risk.”
The Jerusalem Post said the attack was the second on the airport complex this year after the region’s Islamic State affiliate targeted the site in January, and it highlighted rivalry between JNIM and Islamic State branches in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
In the same reporting, Heni Nsaibia of ACLED said the attack “points to the parallel expansion of JNIM and ISSP,” linking that competition to “increasingly frequent high-impact attacks against strategic and symbolic targets.”
The BBC reported that in recent weeks authorities in Niger demolished neighbourhoods near the airport, extended the airport’s perimeter fence, and installed more than 350 surveillance cameras, AFP reports, as the government said “Everything is under control.”
