| Battle of Inates | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofJihadist insurgency in Niger | |||||||
  Battle of Inates (Niger) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Niger |  Islamic State in the Greater Sahara | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 220[citation needed] | 150[citation needed] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 73 killed[1] 12 wounded | Light | ||||||
On 10 December 2019, a large group of fighters belonging to theIslamic State in the Greater Sahara attacked a military post inInates,Tillabéri Region,Niger. They used guns,bombs, andmortars killing over seventysoldiers andkidnapping others in one of the worst attacks in thehistory of Niger.[2][3][4]
In the preceding months, attacks by the Islamic State inMali,Burkina Faso and Niger have worsened with large scale firearm assaults on both thecivilian population and armed forces. In November, gunmen killed over 50soldiers in the2019 Indelimane attack in theMénaka Region of Mali. A week later inBurkina Faso,gunmen stormed a convoy of buses for theBoungouminers, killing 37, although some estimate the death toll to be much higher.[5][6][7] This attack happened after an attack on another Niger post which resulted in the killing of three Nigerian soldiers and 14 of the assailants.[8]
A large group of gunmen stormed the base firing mortars and shooting as many soldiers as possible. The attackers includedsuicide bombers.[9] The spokesman for the ministry stated that many of the attackers were neutralized by friendly forces. The attack killed 71 soldiers and injured 12 others. 30 more soldiers remained missing after the attack. Following this attack, thepresident,Mahamadou Issoufou, decided to cancel his trip toEgypt.[8][9]
On 12 December, The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its local branch.[10]