Islamic State in the Sahel has claimed responsibility for an audacious assault at the international airport and adjacent air force base in Niamey, the capital of Niger, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity and communications worldwide.

The attack, which began shortly after midnight on Thursday, reportedly involved motorcycle-riding militants who launched a “surprise and coordinated” strike using heavy weaponry and drones, according to statements released via IS in the Sahel’s propaganda arm, Amaq news agency.

The regional IS affiliate has been linked to high-profile attacks in Niger in recent months, killing more than 120 people in strikes targeting the Tillabéri region in September, and abducting an American pilot in October.

The gunfire and explosions in the airport, which is about 6 miles (10km) from the presidential palace and Base Aérienne 101, a military base previously used by US and then Russian troops, hit at least three planes: one belonging to Ivorian carrier Air Côte d’Ivoire and two belonging to the Togolese airline Asky. A source at Asky said the airline staff were in their hotel away from the scene and remained in the city, with their passports still in the custody of the authorities.

Niger, which has been led by a junta since the deposition of the democratically elected Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023, has previously blamed the chaos on its neighbours Benin and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as former colonial ruler France, without presenting any supporting evidence.

In a statement aimed at Niger’s neighbours in the regional Economic Community of West African States and its former ally France, the head of the junta, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, said on national television on Thursday: “We have heard them bark, they should be ready to hear us roar.”

Since the coup, Niger has exited Ecowas, joining ranks with fellow junta-run states Burkina Faso and Mali to form the Association of Sahel States (AES), which has issued its own passports and set up a regional development institution, the Confederal Bank for Investment and Development. AES sees some of its Ecowas neighbours as French proxies scheming along with Paris to derail development in the Sahel states as they grapple with jihadist activity.

In its statement on Thursday, Nigerien authorities said the attackers arrived on motorcycles, and security forces quickly repelled their advance, killing 20 of the attackers and arresting 11 others. A stash of ammunition also caught fire, the government said.

The Niamey attack happened about the same time as an attack using drones by jihadists in neighbouring Nigeria. The attack by Islamic State West Africa Province in the early hours of Thursday at the Sabon Gari army base in the north-east state of Borno left at least nine soldiers dead and several others wounded.

• Niger
• Africa
• Islamic State
• news