Islamic State claims bold attack on Niger’s strategic airport hub

The Islamic State extremist group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack in Niger on an air force base in the capital that wounded four soldiers and damaged an aircraft.

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.

State television reported that Niger’s forces responded quickly to the assault early on Thursday, killing 20 of the attackers and arresting 11 others.

Niger has struggled to contain deadly jihadi violence that has battered parts of Africa’s Sahel region, where neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali also are run by military juntas.

In 2025, al-Qaeda and Islamic State 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.

Videos that appear to be from the scene of the attack captured loud blasts and the sky glowing following explosions that began around midnight and lasted about two hours in the area of Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the capital of the West African country.