DAKAR, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Islamic State militants set off explosions and roamed freely among passenger planes during an attack at Niger’s main international airport, according to footage distributed by SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity worldwide.
The attack last week has renewed international concern about the security situation in Niger, with Washington ordering non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave the West African country because of safety risks.
It could also further strain 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.
A Benin government spokesperson denied the allegation, while Ivory Coast summoned the Nigerien ambassador to condemn Tiani’s comments.
During the attack at the capital Niamey’s airport, claimed by Islamic State’s West Africa affiliate on Friday, gunfire and loud explosions echoed around the airport beginning late Wednesday before calm returned on Thursday morning.
UAV AND HELICOPTER IN FLAMES
In the footage distributed by SITE on Sunday, militants on foot and motorbike fire weapons into the air near parked passenger planes and aircraft hangars, where they set off an explosion near an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a helicopter that were later shown engulfed in flames.
The video “shows IS militants speaking Kanuri, a language more commonly used in the Lake Chad basin,” said Ladd Serwat, senior analyst for Africa at U.S. crisis-monitoring group ACLED.
“While ISSP militants come from diverse areas, this may indicate that more experienced drone operators from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) supported the attack.”
Pan-African carrier ASKY Airlines said two of its aircraft sustained minor damage during the incident while parked on the tarmac. Ivory Coast’s national airline Air Cote d’Ivoire said an Airbus A319 was hit, with damage to its fuselage and right wing.
Both companies said no passengers or crew were injured as the incident occurred outside operational hours.
Niger said it killed 20 attackers, including a French national, and injured 11. Islamic State has given no figures.
Niger, like its Sahel neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, has struggled to contain attacks from jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed thousands and displaced millions in the three countries.
(Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; editing by Bate Felix and Mark Heinrich)
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