Niger's security forces on Thursday morning spent several hours battling unknown gunmen at the country's Diori Hamani International Airport in the capital Niamey.

Authorities say the fighting began with an attack around 6:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) and lasted until mid-morning. Gunfire and explosions were reported throughout.

Gunmen are said to have breached airport security at the site — which also headquarters Niger's air force and the Niger-Burkina Faso-Mali joint military force tasked with fighting jihadis.

Insurgency rocks Sahel nations

All three neighboring countries are led by military juntas and all have struggled to gain the upper hand against Islamist insurgents, such as Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for a January attack at the airport that targeted Niger's drone assets.

Niger and allied Russian forces killed 20 gunmen in repelling the January attack. Four Niger soldiers were injured.

On Thursday, eyewitnesses reported seeing security forces pursuing gunmen into various neighborhoods in the capital, as stick and machete-wielding residents joined in the hunt.

Authorities in the capital have torn down thousands of illegally constructed homes near the airport of late, claiming that these settlements had been infiltrated by Islamists.

Edited by: Zac Crellin