Jan 30 – Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on the airport in Niger’s capital Niamey in a statement on Friday, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity and communications worldwide.
The Islamic State affiliate in the region has been linked to high-profile attacks in Niger in recent months, killing over 120 people in the Tillaberi region in September and abducting an American pilot in October.
The attack on the airport began on Wednesday night and involved gunfire and loud explosions before calm returned on Thursday morning.
Niger’s military ruler, Abdourahamane Tiani, accused the presidents of France, Benin and Ivory Coast on Thursday of sponsoring the attack, without offering any evidence. He also vowed retaliation.
Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, spokesperson for Benin’s government, said on Friday: “He is the only one to believe that nonsense.”
In its statement, Islamic State described the assault as a “surprise and coordinated attack” that inflicted “significant damage”, but provided no details.
Niger’s Defence Ministry said the attackers had arrived on motorcycles and security forces quickly repelled them. Four soldiers were wounded in the fighting, it said.
Material losses at the airport included a cache of ammunition that caught fire, the ministry said, and damage to several civilian airplanes.
Reuters could not independently establish a toll of casualties. Niger said it had killed 20 attackers and injured 11, but Islamic State gave no figures.
Niger, like its Sahel neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, has struggled to contain attacks from jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed thousands and displaced millions in the three countries.
(Reporting by Niger newsroom; Aditional reporting by Pulcherie Adjoha in Cotonou; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Kevin Liffey)
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