IS-Sahel insurgents attack Tahoua Airport hosting Niger’s TB2 drone fleet

Suspected fighters of the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS-Sahel) launched an early-morning attack on Tahoua Airport in western Niger, targeting a military air base that houses the Nigerien Air Force’s Bayraktar TB2 drone fleet.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the insurgents struck the facility at about 1:30 a.m. on Monday, triggering an exchange of gunfire around the air base in the Tahoua Region.

The base is considered a strategic hub for Niger’s counterterrorism operations as it hosts the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles used for surveillance and precision strikes against insurgent groups across the Sahel.

Details on casualties or possible damage to military assets were not immediately available at the time of filing this report.

The attack comes less than two months after suspected IS-Sahel militants carried out a similar assault on a military air base in Niamey.

Security analysts say the incident highlights a shift in tactics by jihadist groups in the Sahel, with increasing focus on strategic targets such as airports, military bases and drone installations.