Friday 20th February 2026
By inAfrika Newsroom
Niger airport attack footage has heightened concern over Sahel aviation security after Reuters reported Islamic State militants set off explosions and moved among passenger planes during an assault on Niger’s main international airport in Niamey. The report said the details emerged from footage distributed by SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity.
The attack, which began on a Wednesday night and involved gunfire and loud explosions, has become a regional reference point because airports sit at the centre of government continuity, humanitarian access, and business travel in fragile security environments. Reuters reported that calm returned by Thursday morning, according to Niger’s government account cited in the earlier Reuters dispatch on Islamic State’s claim.
Reuters reported the incident also triggered international risk reassessments, including Washington ordering non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Niger because of safety risks.
Niger airport attack footage: key details
Reuters reported Niger’s defence ministry said attackers arrived on motorcycles and security forces repelled them quickly. It said four soldiers were wounded. The ministry also said material losses included a cache of ammunition that caught fire and damage to several civilian airplanes.
Reuters reported Niger said it killed 20 attackers and injured 11, while Islamic State provided no casualty figures. In the same reporting stream, Reuters said Niger claimed 20 attackers were killed in the assault referenced in the later footage-based report, and noted Islamic State gave no numbers.
The Reuters report said the attack strained regional ties after Niger’s military leader, Abdourahamane Tiani, accused the presidents of Benin and Ivory Coast, as well as France, of sponsoring the attack, without offering evidence. Benin’s government spokesperson dismissed the allegation, Reuters reported.
The airport assault fits a pattern of escalating insecurity across the central Sahel, where jihadist groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda have expanded attacks despite multiple counterterrorism campaigns and shifting external security partnerships. Reuters noted Niger, like neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, has struggled to contain violence that has killed thousands and displaced millions across the three countries.
For airlines, insurers, and airport operators, incidents that reach airside areas can trigger immediate reviews of perimeter security, access control, and the resilience of emergency response plans. For humanitarian actors, airport insecurity can disrupt medical evacuations and the movement of relief supplies when overland routes are contested.
The Reuters description of militants moving among passenger aircraft has focused attention on operational vulnerabilities during off-hours, even where terminals are closed. The report did not indicate passenger casualties and noted the attack occurred outside operational hours, according to Reuters’ account.
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