Horror Al-Qaeda attack sees 13 dead as terrorists launch huge raid on 150 motorcycles

By Conor Wilson, News Reporter

The group descended on the village with around 150 motorcycles. (Image: )

Gunmen in the West African country of Niger have killed 13 people in the latest of a string of attacks in the region. The killings took place in the early morning in Magoro, Kumbashi and Bangi, the headquarters of the local Government area.

Gunmen descended on the area on around 150 motorcycles, firing randomly and killing 13, whilst injuring dozens of people. Among the dead were villagers, members of a local vigilante group, and a policeman, whilst two women were reportedly abducted. The motivation of the attackers is yet to be determined but the attack comes as attacks by Al Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) continue  across several West African nations, especially Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The country fell to a military coup in 2023 (Image: Getty)

JNIM has become one of Africa’s most deadly jihadist groups since being formed in Mali in 2017.

The group was formed after five separate militant groups joined forces and has contributed to significant political instability in the region, which has seen several coups and hundreds of attacks across West Africa and the Sahel.

Niger was subject to a military coup in July 2023 amid rising insecurity and internal power struggles.

Poor governance has allowed militant groups such as JNIM to flourish, allowing them to exploit local grievances to boost their numbers.

Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst for security consultancy firm Control Risk said: "JNIM have an ability to embed in local communities or to be able to use local grievances as a means of recruiting or winning sympathy towards their cause.”

The militants reject the authority of the Sahel governments as they seek to impose a strict interpretation of Islam and Sharia law.

Poor governance and insecurity has allowed JNIM to thrive. (Image: Getty)

It has been known to impose strict laws in its areas of operation, including ordering men to grow beards, banning music and smoking and preventing women from being alone in public.

Yvan Guichaoua, a senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, said: "These practices are clearly breaking from established practices and certainly not very popular.

"But whether it's attractive or not, also depends on what the state is able to deliver, and there has been a lot of disappointment in what the state has been doing for the past years."

It currently has strongholds within Niger and beyond and has been responsible for several attacks on government forces in recent years.