Battle of Toumour (2016)
| Battle of Toumour | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Boko Haram insurgency | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Niger Chad |
 ISWAP | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
5 killed, 8 wounded None |
38 killed 2 POWs | ||||||
Between September 12 and 14, 2016, ISWAP militants attacked Toumour, Diffa Region, Niger.
Background
[edit]Boko Haram emerged in 2009 as a jihadist social and political movement in a failed rebellion in northeast Nigeria.[1] Throughout the following years, Abubakar Shekau unified militant Islamist groups in the region and continued to foment the rebellion against the Nigerian government, conducting terrorist attacks and bombings in cities and communities across the region.[2] On March 7, 2015, the group publicly declared allegiance to the Islamic State and became known as the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP).[3]
In June, ISWAP attacked Bosso, leaving dozens of Nigerien soldiers and ISWAP fighters killed in the seizure of the town. ISWAP was able to seize control of Bosso, its first territorial capture in Niger.[4] Toumour suffered its first incursion on September 2, when ISWAP fighters murdered a Nigerian man before being intercepted by a local self-defense group. The jihadists fired upon the group, killing four, before fleeing into Nigeria.[5]
Battle
[edit]On September 12, villagers in Toumour gathered to celebrate Tabaski, but authorities were fearful of an attack. After being informed of a jihadist presence nearby, a Nigerien army patrol was dispatched and discovered the ISWAP fighters at a well eight kilometers north of Toumour.[6] The Nigerien forces called on Chadian reinforcements to aid them in the battle against the jihadist group.[7] Combing operations against ISWAP in and around Toumour ended on September 14.[7]
Nigerien army spokesman Moustapha Ledrou said on September 13 that 30 ISWAP fighters were killed and two taken prisoner.[8] Ledrou also said that five soldiers were killed and six were wounded.[9] On September 16, he released another statement saying 38 jihadists were killed and two soldiers wounded during the combing operations between September 12 and 14.[7]
References
[edit]- ↑ Walker, Andrew (2016-02-04). "Join us or die: the birth of Boko Haram". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ "Nigeria unrest: 'Boko Haram' gunmen kill 44 at mosque". BBC News. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ↑ Porter, Geoff (2015-03-19). "A Biography of Boko Haram and the Bay'a to al-Baghdadi". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
- ↑ "Niger : le chaos après l'attaque de Bosso". Le Point.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
- ↑ "Niger: cinq morts dans une attaque de Boko Haram à l'est du pays". RFI (in French). 2016-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ "Cinq soldats nigériens tués dans une embuscade de Boko Haram à l'est du pays". RFI (in French). 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- 1 2 3 "Niger : 38 combattants de Boko Haram tués dans le sud nigérien". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ "Niger : 30 combattants de Boko Haram tués". BBC News Afrique (in French). Retrieved 2026-09-10.
- ↑ "Wikiwix Archives". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2026-09-10.