Armed assault on Niamey airport and airbase kills 13 in Niger
Armed men attacked Diori Hamani International Airport and an adjacent military airbase in Niger’s capital, Niamey, around dawn on June 18, triggering hours of heavy gunfire before the army said it had secured the complex by midday. Niger’s defense ministry reported 11 soldiers and 2 civilians killed, according to Al Jazeera , along with 22 attackers killed, four people wounded, and roughly 20 suspects detained. The ministry said the airport remained open to air traffic.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but an ISIL affiliate had claimed a similar assault on the same complex in January 2026. The site is among Niger’s most strategically sensitive: it hosts counterterrorism forces, drone operations against regional fighters, and stationed Russian personnel.
The attack underscores how exposed Niamey’s core military infrastructure remains under the ruling junta, which expelled French and US forces after the 2023 coup and turned to Russian security support. A repeat strike on a hardened, high-value site suggests armed groups in the Sahel retain the reach to hit the capital directly rather than only rural outposts.