Are “low-cost, effective” drones making Sahelian fighters harder to defeat?

The brazen attack on the international airport and nearby military airfield in Niamey, Niger’s capital, occurred on the night of January 28-29.

Orange fireballs flew across the sky as the Nigerian army tried to respond, while residents took cover and whispered prayers, as shown in videos on social media. ISIL (ISIS) in the Sahel Province or ISSP – a Niger-based organization formerly known as ISIL’s Greater Sahara affiliate or ISGS – has since claimed responsibility and claimed to have killed several soldiers, although the Nigerian army denies this.

Analysts say the daring attack shows the ISSP’s growing confidence at a time when the host of armed groups operating in West Africa’s restive Sahel region are expanding their areas of operations with advanced technology. Many of its fighters had breached military drone hangars using RPGs and mortars and managed to damage several aircraft and a civilian aircraft.