Al Qaeda group JNIM releases high-level production video
JNIM’s new video shows its fighters across Mali and even in Burkina Faso. The video also shows the group’s rising media capabilities.
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JNIM confirms deaths of co-founder, senior leaders in French raids
The death of Hasan al Ansari and five other senior leaders of JNIM was used as justification for JNIM’s terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso on Friday.
JNIM releases proof-of-life video for French hostage
The video of Sophie Petronin is similar to January’s proof-of-life video for another JNIM hostage, Gloria Cecilia Narvaez.
JNIM directs hostage video towards Pope Francis
The video acts as a proof-of-life video for Gloria Narvaez, a Colombian nun kidnapped in southern Mali last year. She was last seen in a video released in July 2017.
JNIM claims string of attacks across Mali
These assaults serve as a reminder of al Qaeda’s vast capabilities to strike across the region. This comes even with both a French counter-terrorism operation and a UN peacekeeping operation in Mali. Al Qaeda’s operational capacity in Mali and the wider West African region has largely remained intact.
JNIM claims large assault in Kidal, Mali
After almost one month of media silence, al Qaeda’s JNIM returns to social media to claim responsibility for a complex assault on UN forces near the northern Malian city of Kidal.
JNIM claims series of attacks on French forces in Mali
The al Qaeda group continues to target French forces in northern Mali, as well as conduct attacks on Malian and UN troops elsewhere in the country.
New JNIM video details deadly raid in southern Mali
The raid, which occurred last year, was a joint operation that included several al Qaeda groups in Mali. The video is likely meant to show that the raid was a precursor to the merger that would from the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
JNIM claims mortar barrage on UN forces in Timbuktu
Yesterday’s mortar barrage comes just a week after a similar incident left one UN peacekeeper dead. Al Qaeda’s forces in Mali continue to retain the ability to strike foreign forces across the country’s north.
JNIM targets Malian base in suicide assault
The suicide assault left at least seven dead, another 17 wounded, and a further 16 missing. This comes just a week after another eight Malian troops were killed in an ambush in southern Mali.
JNIM shows spoils from deadly assault near Timbuktu
The photos confirm the report released last week that while it withdrew from a Malian base after French intervention, it captured large amounts of weapons and equipment.
JNIM claims number of attacks across Mali
The attacks targeted Malian troops, UN peacekeepers, and Bambara militiamen. In one coordinated assault in the Timbuktu region, it also clashed with French forces.
JNIM claims ambush on French troops in Mali
The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al Qaeda’s new group in West Africa, claimed an ambush on French troops in central Mali near the borders with Burkina Faso. Additionally, it also claimed launching Grad rockets into a French base in northern Mali.
Islamic State claims assault on airport in Niger’s capital
The Islamic State has officially claimed last week’s assault on Niger’s Diori Hamani International Airport in the capital of Niamey, which also hosts the military Air Base 101. Niger claims the assault was repelled, with Russia’s Africa Corps mercenary group also taking credit for the defense.
US strikes Islamic State in Nigeria
President Donald Trump announced that US forces struck Islamic State targets in northwestern Nigeria on December 25 after the Nigerian government reportedly requested military action from the United States. The strikes took place in Sokoto State, which borders Niger and has been one of the scenes of jihadist expansion from the Sahel into Nigeria.
American abducted by suspected jihadists in Niger
Kevin Rideout, an American Christian missionary in Niger’s capital of Niamey since 2010, was abducted from his home by suspected jihadists just 100 yards from Niger’s Presidential Palace. Regional security in the Sahel continues to falter as both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda continue to surge.
Shabaab claims prison assault in Mogadishu
Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, claimed yesterday’s assault on Somalia’s Godka Jilacow prison in Mogadishu. The facility is operated by Somalia’s national intelligence service, representing a major intelligence failure.
Analysis: Al Qaeda’s da’wah campaign in West Africa
The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al Qaeda’s branch for West Africa, has publicized its da’wah (proselytizing) activities in local communities in Mali and Burkina Faso. Photos released by the group document its men delivering religious lectures to locals in the southern Mali region of Kayes and Burkina Faso along the border with Niger.
Analysis: Al Qaeda strikes the Malian capital
The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al Qaeda’s West African branch, claimed responsibility for a coordinated assault in Mali’s capital city of Bamako yesterday. The attack comes as JNIM continues to push further south within Mali, threatening the stability of Interim President Assimi Goita’s military regime.
Analysis: Al Qaeda kills hundreds in Burkina Faso attack
On Saturday, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), Al Qaeda’s branch for West Africa, killed at least 200 people in a massive assault in central Burkina Faso.
Jihadis mount prison mutinies across Africa
Over the last few days, jihadis have mounted two attacks inside prisons in Somalia and Niger. While the mutiny inside the Nigerien prison was successful, the Somali prison assault appears to have been thwarted. Nonetheless, both incidents highlight the lingering threat of jihadi prison breaks on the continent and the importance jihadist groups put on such operations.
Analysis: Islamic State’s current da’wah campaign across Africa
In Mali and Mozambique, the Islamic State’s men are putting guns away and engaging with locals to help sensitize communities to its ideology and garner public support. In doing so, this highlights the extent of its control and/or influence.
Al-Qaeda’s North and West African branches respond to the Hamas-led invasion of Israel
Both al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims, al-Qaeda’s branches in North and West Africa, respectively, have openly praised Hamas for its mass killings of Jews in recent days.
Analysis: Setting the stage for Mali’s near future
As of Sept. 2023, the future of Mali looks bleaker than ever. If you’re a jihadist, however, then the future is very bright.
Analysis: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb encourages its Sahelian wing to continue fighting the Islamic State
Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri, an Algerian ideologue in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, offers the group’s harshest rebuke of the Islamic State to date.
American, French hostages freed in the Sahel
Jeff Woodke, who spent over six years captive in the Sahel, and Olivier Dubois, who spent almost two years as a hostage, were finally freed from the clutches of al-Qaeda’s men in the Sahel. The United States has denied paying a ransom.
State places $10 million bounty on Kenyan Shabaab commander
Mohamoud Abdi Aden is the second Kenyan-Somali the U.S. State Department has placed a $10 million bounty on in the last week. Shabaab now has five leaders with $10 million bounties, the most for any Sunni jihadist group.
German national freed in the Sahel after years of jihadist captivity
German national Jorg Lange was finally freed after being held captive by Islamic State militants in the Sahel since 2018.
Islamic State claims first attacks inside Benin
The two claims of responsibility now confirms that both al Qaeda and the Islamic State are active inside the small West African country.
Jihadists kill dozens across northern Togo
Almost 30 people have been killed in a series of jihadist attacks – many of which happened near simultaneously – across northern Togo over the last few days.