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.
Turkey has steadily increased its foothold in the central Sahel by providing arms, security assistance, and more to regional juntas. Similarly, The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), Al Qaeda’s branch for the Sahel and West Africa, is on its own upward trajectory, standing as one of the region’s most dominant violent actors. The jihadist group’s external messaging suggests it perceives Turkey to be an obstacle as it seeks to expand its territorial control and influence.
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.
The photos act as a representation of JNIM’s training programs across the Sahel.
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.
Host Bill Roggio is joined again by (semi-official?) co-host Caleb Weiss to discuss Jihadi control in Africa. In the last several years, Jihadists have moved toward central and southern Mali and are now threatening Bamako, the capital of Mali. In Burkina Faso, Jihadis control around 40% of the country. Bill and Caleb walk through past and present Jihadi attacks, offenses, and operations.
At least three Italians, one Polish citizen, and one American have been kidnapped in the Sahel over the last two months. At least five other Westerners remain in captivity in the region – all of which are held by jihadist groups.
As violence continues to spread across the Sahel, particularly in Burkina Faso, the violence is now seeping into the states of Ivory Coast, Togo, and Benin.
Coming roughly a month after France reported it had killed Abu Walid al Sahrawi, the Islamic State’s leader in the Sahel, the Islamic State itself has finally subtly confirmed the reports. The jihadist group has not publicly named a successor.
Northern Ivory Coast has seen a substantial increase in suspected jihadist attacks since March of this year. Much of the violence is emanating from southwestern Burkina Faso, where al Qaeda’s Katibat Macina is expanding.
The photo offers a rare look into jihadist governance in the Sahel, in which jihadists loyal to both al Qaeda and the Islamic State wield both direct and indirect control over many rural areas.
In an interview with the Islamic State’s Al-Naba newsletter, Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, attempts to paint al Qaeda’s efforts in the region as rife with internal squabbles and disunity.
In this week’s edition of the Islamic State’s weekly Al-Naba newsletter, the jihadist group claims a series of wide-ranging operations across the Sahel. This includes last month’s massacre of French aid workers in Niger, as well as a spate of battles with al Qaeda’s men.
While JNIM has not claimed the assault, its Katibat Macina is widely suspected of perpetrating the attack. This comes after sustained operations against it in the area last month.
The two jihadist groups continue their rampage in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Two recently released booklets by the al Qaeda group are likely meant to assuage tensions both within and outside its organization.
The al Qaeda group has claimed a series of attacks across the Sahel in recent weeks.
The large video details several major Islamic State operations inside the Sahel over the last few years.
In addition to the prison break, JNIM also claimed two other recent attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Amadou Kouffa, the leader of JNIM’s Katibat Macina, has been designated as a global terrorist by the US State Department.
No group has yet to claim the attacks, but al Qaeda-linked militants have been widely blamed.
Both groups have claimed deadly assaults in Burkina Faso, playing into the already perilous security situation in the country.
On June 15, the Islamic State’s West Africa province released a video featuring a masked jihadist known as Abu Salmah al-Mangawi. Along with foot soldiers in Burkina Faso and Mali, al-Mangawi renewed his pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The jihadist group also claimed an assault on a high-security prison near the capital of Niamey.
The Islamic State issued several claims of responsibility for attacks by the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of civilians who have been murdered by both jihadists and government forces in Burkina Faso. This helps exacerbate the conditions that allow jihadists to operate in the region.
Several attacks in both Mali and Burkina Faso were claimed by al Qaeda’s jihadist conglomerate JNIM.
The ambush marks one of the deadliest attacks inside Burkina Faso, which is part of the growing jihadist violence inside the country.
AQIM leader Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud has confirmed that Almansour Ag Kassam (Almansour Ag Alkassoum), an important jihadist who worked with several al Qaeda groups, was killed by France in November.
Burkina Faso’s wanted list gives more information into the inner-workings and operations of Ansaroul Islam, a relatively under-researched and little understood al Qaeda-linked jihadist group.