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On July 11 and 12, 2024, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Bariqa News Agency reported that more than 200 militants escaped Koutoukale prison, located in Niger's Tillaberi region.[i] There have been two past attempts to break out the inmates held in the high-security prison, in 2016 and 2019.[ii]
According to Bariqa's report, on July 11, riots within the prison coincided with an attack from without. The attack from outside the prison managed to break its walls, killing the prison guards in the process. After seizing weapons and equipment, the prisoners "fled to an unknown destination." Bariqa claimed that among the escapees were commanders, adding that because the prison was considered "the most impenetrable in Niger and was known for its brutal incarceration conditions," it held prisoners characterized as "dangerous terrorists."
Koutoukale Prison "had been attacked twice by soldiers of the Caliphate in the past, and the third was successful in breaking its walls," the report concluded.
In an earlier report on July 11, Bariqa shared a curfew order of the administrator of the Urban Commune of Tillaberi. Following the jailbreak, Nigerien authorities put "all search units on alert." In addition to prisoners linked with ISIS, Koutoukale also reportedly held prisoners affiliated with other Islamist groups, such as Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.[iii]
Bariqa attributed two past failed jailbreak attempts to ISIS. In 2019, the Islamic State West Africa Province and ISIS' official A'maq News Agency reported that on May 13, its fighters attacked Koutoukale Prison, killing and wounding several operatives of the Nigerien security forces.[iv] This operation was also mentioned in an ISIS video highlighting attacks in the Sahel region, published on January 10, 2020.[v]
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