Al-Qaeda–linked militant group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for two separate attacks that left at least four Nigerien soldiers dead in the Tillabéri region of the western Niger Republic.
According to a statement released by the group on Thursday, the first attack occurred on October 25, 2025, along the Mossipaga–Torodi road, where JNIM fighters reportedly detonated three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against a patrol unit of the Nigerien armed forces.
The statement alleged that the explosion caused several casualties among the troops, though it did not specify the exact number.
On the same day, the group carried out a second operation near the village of Garamou, also in the Tillabéri region, claiming to have killed four soldiers and seized weapons from the scene.
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Security sources in Niamey confirmed that the Tillabéri region, which borders Mali and Burkina Faso, has remained a flashpoint of jihadist activity despite ongoing counterterrorism operations by Niger’s military.
The attacks come amid rising insecurity in the tri-border area known as the “Liptako-Gourma,” where JNIM and Islamic State–affiliated militants have intensified assaults on security forces and civilians.
Tillabéri has been one of the hardest-hit regions since the Sahel insurgency spread from Mali into neighbouring countries more than a decade ago.