Reported drone use in the Niamey airport attack is the first-ever by ISSP in Niger
On 29 January 2026, Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) attacked the international airport and military airbase in Niger’s capital of Niamey. While some reports claim ISSP used mortars and RPGs, others detail that militants delivered explosives using drones.
“If a drone was used, this represents the first time ISSP used an explosive-laden drone in Niger.
“While the Islamic State’s (IS) Nashir newsletter attributes the attack on the Niamey airport to ISSP, a video from Amaq — another IS media outlet — shows IS militants speaking Kanuri, a language more commonly used in the Lake Chad basin. 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.
“ISWAP has been the most prolific IS affiliate in Africa to engage in drone warfare, with ACLED data recording 16 drone incidents attributed to this group since 2024: 10 involved drone attacks and the remainder were intelligence‑gathering or surveillance missions used to prepare ground offensives against military targets.
“Al‑Qaeda affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (Support Group for Islam and Muslims, or JNIM), uses drones much more prolifically than the Islamic State rivals. JNIM began using drones in 2023 and has expanded their use since then, reaching a surge of drone attacks last year. ACLED records over 100 cases of drone violence by JNIM since the group began using this technology in 2023, with additional deployments of drones in combined aerial/ground operations across the Sahel.
“JNIM relies especially on the DJI M30T drone, which is capable of a dual-explosive deployment, but does not tend to conduct kamikaze drone attacks.”
Comments from Dr. Ladd Serwat, Senior Analyst for Africa at ACLED
