The country has been a linchpin in the fight by Western and African forces against the spread of Islamist militancy across the Sahel region. The US has a military drone base in the country, which it used to target insurgents affiliated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State in cooperation with the French military. The European Union also saw Niger as an ally in its efforts to tackle illegal immigration from Africa, some of which passes northward through the country en route to the Mediterranean.