Militants target strategic drone base in overnight raid on Niger city

NIAMEY, Niger (SCANS) — Heavy gunfire and explosions rocked the city of Tahoua in central Niger early Monday as armed militants attempted to storm a strategic military air base, officials and residents said.
The assault, which began around 1:30 a.m., targeted a facility known to house the Nigerien Air Force’s fleet of Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones—assets that have become central to the military junta’s counterterrorism operations in the volatile Sahel region.
According to security sources and local witnesses, the attackers arrived on motorcycles and engaged in a fierce firefight with the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) for approximately thirty minutes. The sound of automatic weapons and detonations triggered panic in the city of Tahoua, which serves as a regional capital bordering both Mali and Nigeria.
“The infiltration attempt was fiercely repelled,” a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the press. “The situation is now under control, and a security perimeter has been established around the airport and air base.”
The incident marks a significant escalation in the reach of armed groups in Niger. While rural areas of the Tahoua region have been under a state of emergency for years due to the presence of Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked militants, the regional capital itself had previously been spared such direct, high-profile attacks.
Security analysts noted the striking similarities between Monday’s raid and a January 29 assault on Air Base 101 in the capital, Niamey. That earlier attack, claimed by the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS-Sahel), damaged several aircraft and highlighted the vulnerability of the country’s most sensitive military installations despite the presence of Russian “Africa Corps” paramilitary instructors.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Tahoua attack, and the military has not yet released official casualty figures.
Since the July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s military rulers have struggled to contain a surge in jihadist violence. The junta has shifted its security alliances away from Western partners like France and the United States toward Russia, even as insurgent groups increasingly target the drone infrastructure the military relies on for surveillance and precision strikes.
By mid-morning Monday, calm had reportedly returned to Tahoua, though residents remained on edge.