35 killed in attack on Niamey Airport in Niger, Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group claims responsibility

ABUJA, June  19 (YPA) – Niger’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that 11 soldiers and two civilians were killed in an attack on Diori Hamani International Airport, located in Niamey, the capital of Niger in West Africa, while an al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The ministry, in a statement broadcast on national television, said 22 attackers were also killed and around 20 suspects were arrested.

It added that four members of the defence and security forces were injured in the clashes.

Authorities said the armed forces, which have ruled Niger since the 2023 coup, were conducting a “large-scale operation” around the area to track down remaining attackers, adding that the airport was fully secured and remained operational for civilian air traffic.

Local residents reported that gunfire began early in the morning around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT), with shots heard near the airport’s main gate and security checkpoint.

In a brief statement published on Thursday evening on its propaganda channel, Az-Zallaqa, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al-Qaeda’s branch in the Sahel region, claimed to have carried out “a suicide attack on Diori Hamani International Airport and the neighbouring military base”.

@E.Y.M