Drones: The Game Changer in Jihadist Warfare Across West Africa

Mon Feb 09 2026 15:41:46 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Jihadist groups in West Africa are increasingly using off-the-shelf drones to enhance their warfare capabilities, marking a troubling shift in how conflicts are fought in the region.

Recent reports reveal that jihadist factions in West Africa have been leveraging commercially available drones for strikes and reconnaissance. This new tactic allows them to execute military operations from the air, resulting in a growing number of drone attacks across countries like Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Mali. With 69 recorded strikes by an al-Qaeda affiliate and around 20 by Islamic State factions, analysts warn this trend poses increasing threats to regional stability. The ability to conduct efficient and effective strikes with reduced risk represents a significant escalation in modern warfare tactics.

Jihadist groups are increasingly carrying out drone strikes in West Africa, raising alarm that they are building the capacity to wage a war from the skies.

A leading violence monitoring organisation, Acled, has recorded at least 69 drone strikes by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Burkina Faso and Mali since 2023, while two Islamic State (IS) affiliates have carried out around 20 -- mostly in Nigeria, which has been battling numerous insurgent groups for almost 25 years.

The latest drone attack took place in Nigeria's north-eastern Borno state on 29 January, when jihadists carried out a two-pronged assault -- with multiple armed drones and ground fighters -- on a military base.

The military said nine of its soldiers were killed in the attack by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (Iswap) -- identified by Acled as the most prolific IS African affiliate in drone warfare.

The jihadists tended to carry out strikes with commercially available, relatively inexpensive quadcopter [unmanned] drones that were rigged with explosives, while also using them for reconnaissance and surveillance missions in preparation for ground attacks, Acled senior Africa analyst Ladd Serwat told the BBC.

Despite the fact that Nigeria's government tightly controls the import of commercial and hobby drones and prohibits their use without official permission, the jihadists were able to obtain them through their smuggling networks across the region's porous borders, said a Nigeria-based senior researcher at the Good Governance Africa think-tank, Malik Samuel.

The growing use of armed and surveillance drones by violent extremist groups in the Sahel and Lake Chad region is deeply concerning, and it marks a significant shift, security analyst Audu Bulama Bukarti told the BBC.

One of the main advantages of drone warfare? It lowers the cost of conducting attacks, allows militants to gather intelligence with minimal risk, and enables strikes on military targets that were previously harder to reach.

Stats show Iswap has carried out 10 drone strikes since 2024 in north-eastern Nigeria and surrounding countries affected by insurgency. Another striking group, the Islamic State of Sahel Province (ISSP), has similarly conducted drone attacks in West Africa, with many targeting military and perceived government-aligned civilian locations.