ISIS at the heart of Niger: messages written in blood map the infiltration

31st January 2026

4 minutes read

ISIS at the heart of Niger: messages written in blood map the infiltration

At the airport of Niger’s capital, ISIS struck, and the choice of location appeared too explicit to be concealed behind an isolated attack, carried out in close proximity to a strategic site hosting a counterterrorism headquarters.

While the precise coordinates of the attack point to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the geography of the area reveals messages written by the terrorists through their fire, addressed not only to Niger but also to its counterterrorism allies, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Niamey airport lies less than ten kilometers from the Nigerien presidency, a strategic complex that houses an air force base, a modern drone base, and the headquarters of the joint force established by Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali to fight terrorist groups.

On Friday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Niamey airport, after the country’s ruling military council accused France, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire of sponsoring the perpetrators, while thanking Russia for its assistance in repelling the assault.

Earlier, the Nigerien military council announced that armed men had attacked Niamey airport, triggering clashes with the army that left four soldiers wounded. It stated that its forces had killed twenty attackers, including one French national, and arrested several others.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist organizations, relayed a statement from ISIS claiming the operation.

For nearly a decade, ISIS and Al-Qaeda, through its local affiliate the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, have carried out attacks in western Niger, but their operations have rarely reached the capital.

The message of the location

According to observers, this marks the first attack of such magnitude claimed by ISIS in Niamey, within the Sahel region, despite the fact that the Nigerien capital has previously experienced security incidents.

In October 2025, an American citizen was kidnapped, and days earlier the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for destroying a vehicle near the town of Parkiawal, about twenty kilometers from Niamey.

All of those attacks were clearly localized, yet many questions remain surrounding the assault on Niamey airport, where clashes between terrorists and the army lasted nearly an hour.

According to Nigerien authorities, defense and security forces repelled the attackers, who arrived on motorcycles, launching a combined ground and air counteroffensive. It remains unclear whether the assailants used drones or whether they were targeting Nigerien military aircraft.

According to Radio France Internationale, many analysts consider this likely, though they remain uncertain, while agreeing on the symbolic significance of the attack in the international airport area, which also hosts Niger Air Base 101 and the headquarters of the country’s security forces, where Russian partners were present and took part in the response.

The airport is also currently storing a large shipment of uranium produced in Niger and awaiting export, which is at the center of a dispute between Niger and the French nuclear giant Orano, which accuses the Nigerien government of seizing a shipment that belongs to the company.

Residents living near the airport reported hearing gunfire and explosions on Wednesday night into Thursday, before calm returned after about an hour.

“Mercenaries”

The head of Niger’s military council, General Abdourahamane Tiani, said in a statement broadcast on the public radio station “Voice of the Sahel”: “We congratulate the defense and security forces, as well as our Russian partners, who defended their security perimeter with professionalism.”

He added: “We remind the sponsors of these mercenaries, particularly Emmanuel Macron, Patrice Talon, President of Benin, and Alassane Ouattara, President of Côte d’Ivoire, that we have heard their howling long enough; they should now prepare to hear us in return.”

Relations are extremely strained between France and the military council that came to power in Niger following the coup of July 26, 2023. The Nigerien authorities regularly accuse France and Benin of attempting to destabilize the country, accusations both states deny.

Niger has also moved closer to new partners, including Russia.

In a statement, Niger’s Minister of Defense, General Salifou Modi, said that “a group of mercenaries” attacked Base 101 in Niamey for thirty minutes before being repelled “from the ground and the air.”

He stated that four soldiers were wounded and material damage was recorded, including a fire at an ammunition depot, adding that the attackers fired at three civilian aircraft while fleeing.

According to the minister, the response resulted in the death of twenty mercenaries and the arrest of eleven others, most of whom were seriously injured.

State television broadcast images from the airport, which was visited by the head of the military council. Bodies were seen lying on the ground, presented as those of the attackers, “including a French national.”

The West Africa–based journalistic group Wamaps, specializing in Sahel security affairs, reported that around 300 Italian soldiers are stationed at the airport’s military base as part of the Italian support mission to Niger, known as MISIN.