The attack perpetrated on the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger, on the night of January 28 to 29, 2026, by terrorists who came on motorcycles, was met with a “vigorous air-land response” from the Nigerien military that “allowed the neutralization of twenty mercenaries and the arrest of eleven others, the majority of which are seriously injured, as well as the recovery of important war material and motorcycles,” said a statement from the Minister of State,Minister of Defense of Niger Mr. Salifou Mody.
In this statement, signed this Thursday, January 29, 2026, the Nigerien Minister of Defense informs that “On the night of January 28 to 29, 2026, at around 00:20 a.m., a group of mercenaries attacked the 101 air base in Niamey, the same one from which the French forces were driven out, on November 22, 2023”.
Read more…
Source: ANP News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Niger: Three soldiers killed in IED attack near Niamey
January 27, 2026
At least three Nigerien soldiers were killed and 10 others injured on Sunday after an army patrol vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in Bartchawal, Tillabéri Region, about 20 kilometres from the capital, Niamey. Sources said that the incident occurred late in the day along the Niamey–Filingué road axis when the patrol was returning from ...
- Nigeria: Dozens of terrorists killed as ISWAP and Boko Haram clash in Borno
January 22, 2026
Dozens of terrorists were killed on both sides after a renewed violent encounter between the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and elements of the Bukura faction loyal to Abu Umaima along the Lake Chad Basin axis of Abadam Local Government Area of Borno. The clash started in the early hours of Tuesday, around 6:00 a.m., ...
- Nigeria: Troops intercept large shipment of IED materials in North East
September 19, 2025
Troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) North East, Operation Hadin Kai, have intercepted a large consignment of logistics supplies intended for terrorists in Yobe State. Spokesman Lt. Col. Sani Uba described the interception as a major breakthrough in ongoing counter-terrorism operations. Inspection revealed 700 bags of NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer, which can be used to make ...
- Niger: Islamic State group escalates attacks on civilians
September 10, 2025
Islamic State-affiliated militants have stepped up attacks in western Niger, killing more than 127 people in five separate strikes since March and highlighting authorities’ failure to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. A report by the rights group provides the most detailed accounts available of attacks carried out by Islamic State in the Sahel ...
- ISWAP’s emergence as epicentre of the Islamic State’s jihadism
July 12, 2025
A new infographic released by ISIS’s Amaq Agency over the weekend paints a revealing picture of the group’s global operations during the first half of the year. The data, drawn from across ISIS’s various wilayat (provinces), confirms a trend that has been developing over the past few years: the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has ...
- Sahel militants turn civilian drones into deadly weapons
July 8, 2025
Terror groups are increasingly using new tactics, notably armed suicide or kamikaze drones, according to a government statement released following several attacks on cities in western Mali on 1 July. The use of commercially available small civilian drones for strikes by terrorist and armed rebel groups is not limited to Mali, and has become prevalent throughout ...
- Niger: 11 terrorists killed in the Tillabery and Dosso regions
July 6, 2025
The Nigerien army announced on Sunday that it had killed at least 11 terrorists in response to two coordinated attacks carried out on Wednesday and Thursday in the Tillabery and Dosso regions of western Niger. According to a military statement broadcast on Nigerien Radio and Television, the first clash occurred on Wednesday when terrorist groups ambushed ...
- Niger targets jihadist financing, kills 13 in illegal gold mine raids
June 16, 2025
Niger’s army has raided jihadist-controlled informal mining sites in the country’s west, killing more than a dozen insurgents and seizing material linked to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, it said. An army statement said the raids took place last week in the Tagueye locality, near Niger’s western border with Burkina Faso. It said 13 insurgents ...
- Niger: Improvised explosive device kills eight gold miners in the Tillaberi region
May 13, 2025
A bomb blast in insurgent-riven west Niger has killed at least eight workers at the Samira gold mine in the Tillaberi region, local sources told AFP on Tuesday. Located in the borderlands straddling Niger and fellow unrest-hit Sahel neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, the Tillaberi region is a hotbed for various militants. The workers died on ...
- Niger: One soldier killed, 13 terrorists arrested in military operations
April 20, 2025
One soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device and 13 terrorists arrested during military operations carried out between Thursday and Saturday within the national territory, the Nigerien army confirmed on Saturday. A notorious gang leader known for his atrocities against civilians, dangerous armed bandits, and individuals formally identified as members of criminal groups are among ...
- Lake Chad: Under the radar, women traffic IED parts to Boko Haram
April 11, 2025
In February last year, two women were arrested in Kolofata, Cameroon, near the Nigerian border, for carrying tiny amounts of ammonium nitrate fertiliser. Kolofata’s gendarmerie brigade commander Ntsie Virgile, who told ENACT about this incident, said the women were arrested because the fertiliser has the potential to be used as a precursor for or component of ...
- Niger army says 15 terrorists killed in security operations
April 10, 2025
The army of Niger has confirmed that it had killed 15 terrorists in operations last Sunday in the western part of the country. According to its weekly bulletin released on Wednesday, the first operation was conducted along the Dargol-Bangno-Tchekirey-Goundey route, resulting in the “neutralization” of 13 criminals. An enemy post located along the route, serving as ...
- Niger: At least 44 killed in jihadist attack in Tillabéri Region
March 22, 2025
Islamist militants killed at least 44 civilians and severely injured 13 others during an attack on a mosque in southwest Niger on Friday, the country’s defence ministry said. The attack occurred during afternoon prayers in the village of Fombita in the rural commune of Kokorou, which is near the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and ...
- Benin: Militants inflict heavy losses on armed forces in an attack in the north
January 10, 2025
Militants inflicted heavy losses on Benin’s armed forces during an attack this week on a fortified military post in the north of the country, the military said in a statement. Col. Faizou Gomina, the national guard chief of staff, said in the statement that the attack took place on Wednesday and offered his condolences to victims, ...
- Sahel: UN Security Council must call out “Ukraine’s support for terrorism”
August 23, 2024
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have petitioned the president of the UN Security Council to denounce what they call the Ukrainian government’s “open support for international terrorism” in the Sahel. A letter dated August 19 and signed by the envoys to the UN of the three Sahelian countries was released on Tuesday (Aug. 20). The move ...