The Islamic State issued a statement on 14 January claiming responsibility for a major assault on a military base in Chinagodrar in Niger’s western Tillaberi region on 9 January, during which at least 89 soldiers were killed.
According to Niger’s Ministry of Defence, the assault on the base – located 209 km north of the capital, Niamey, on the border with Mali – began at 13:00 local time, when “terrorist elements on board several vehicles and motorcycles” attempted to breach the facility’s perimeter. The ministry added that the assault had been repelled following “combined air support from the Niger air force and partners”, including strikes by a patrol of French Mirage 2000 fighter jets, and it further reported that 63 militants had been killed – a figure that the government later revised up to 77.
Nigerien soldiers on patrol near Niamey in December 2019. (Ludovic Marin/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
However, local media reports claimed that the militants had briefly overrun the base before fleeing, and this was seemingly corroborated by photos released by the Islamic State hours after issuing its claim of responsibility, which showed its fighters moving through the facility and looting weapons and equipment.
Series of attacks
The Chinagodrar assault is the latest in a series of similar high-profile operations conducted by Sahel-based Islamic State forces targeting military bases in the border regions of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso in recent months.
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