JNIM Archives

Analysis: Turkey and JNIM: Jihadist messaging signals possible conflict between 2 ascending forces in central Sahel

Charlie Werb | December 27, 2024

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.

Analysis: Al Qaeda’s da’wah campaign in West Africa

Caleb Weiss | October 19, 2024

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.

JNIM fighter burns Mali presidential plane

Analysis: Al Qaeda strikes the Malian capital

Caleb Weiss | September 18, 2024

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

Caleb Weiss | August 26, 2024

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.

Tuareg rebels, JNIM each claim victory over Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali

Caleb Weiss | July 29, 2024

Over the weekend, fierce fighting between Tuareg rebels and the Malian military, backed by mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, was reported in the extreme north of Mali. The Russian mercenaries suffered dozens of casualties—the group’s largest loss to date inside Africa.

Al-Qaeda’s North and West African branches respond to the Hamas-led invasion of Israel

Caleb Weiss | October 13, 2023

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

Caleb Weiss | September 11, 2023

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

Caleb Weiss | April 20, 2023

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.

Northern Mali clans swear allegiance to JNIM

Caleb Weiss | January 23, 2023

Several communities in Mali’s northern Menaka Region have turned to al Qaeda’s men in the face of extreme pressure and violence from the Islamic State’s local wing.

Al Qaeda’s JNIM pushes closer to Malian capital

Caleb Weiss | January 17, 2023

Over the last two weeks, al Qaeda’s West African branch has made a more concerted effort to advance closer to the Malian capital of Bamako.

German national freed in the Sahel after years of jihadist captivity

Caleb Weiss | December 11, 2022

German national Jorg Lange was finally freed after being held captive by Islamic State militants in the Sahel since 2018.

JNIM claims deadly assault in northeastern Togo

Caleb Weiss | November 30, 2022

This is the third such JNIM claim of responsibility for an attack inside northern Togo.

Islamic State claims first attacks inside Benin

Caleb Weiss | September 17, 2022

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

Caleb Weiss | July 16, 2022

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.

Several Westerners kidnapped across the Sahel in recent months

Caleb Weiss | May 23, 2022

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.

Togo suffers its first deadly jihadist assault

Caleb Weiss | May 12, 2022

While Togo suffered its first ever jihadist attack in Nov. 2021, yesterday’s large assault represents the first loss of life from such violence in the small West African state. At least 8 Togolese troops were killed and 13 others wounded in an attack on a base and subsequent IED blast.

French forces report killing Al Qaeda veteran in Mali

Caleb Weiss | March 7, 2022

France says its forces killed Yahia Djouadi, a senior veteran of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, inside northern Mali. The raid comes after France and its European allies are set to withdraw from Mali.

Ansaru reaffirms its allegiance to al Qaeda

Caleb Weiss | January 2, 2022

In a recent statement released online, Jamaat Ansar al Muslimeen, better known as Ansaru, confirmed it maintains its allegiance to al Qaeda after reportedly re-pledging allegiance to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in 2020.

Jihadist attacks flow into littoral West Africa

Caleb Weiss | December 3, 2021

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.

Al Qaeda field commander reported killed in Mali

Caleb Weiss | October 18, 2021

Local Malian sources report that the emir of Katibat Gourma, a sub-unit of Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), was killed in a French operation in northern Mali yesterday. France has confirmed it targeted Katibat Gourma, but the death of its emir is not yet confirmed.

Analysis: Islamic State confirms Sahelian leader’s death, criticizes Al Qaeda

Caleb Weiss | October 18, 2021

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.

Analysis: Ivory Coast witnesses surge in jihadist activity

Caleb Weiss | June 16, 2021

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.

Al Qaeda figure tied to kidnappings reported killed in Mali

Caleb Weiss | June 12, 2021

Baye Ag Bakabo is linked to several of AQIM’s kidnappings in Mali, including the operation that left two RFI journalists dead in 2013.

AQAP congratulates JNIM for attacks on French soldiers

Caleb Weiss | January 30, 2021

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has sent a message of support to its fellow al Qaeda branch for recently killing five French soldiers.

AQIM names veteran jihadist as new emir

Thomas Joscelyn | November 21, 2020

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has named Abu Ubaidah Yusef al-Annabi as its new emir. His predecessor, Abdelmalek Droukdel, was killed in a French counterterrorism operation in Mali earlier this year.

France reports killing Al Qaeda commander in Mali

Caleb Weiss | November 13, 2020

France has claimed it killed Bah Ag Moussa, an important JNIM commander, in a recent military raid in northern Mali. JNIM has not yet commented on the news.

Analysis: Islamic State official critiques Al Qaeda in the Sahel

Caleb Weiss | November 13, 2020

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.

Analysis: JNIM celebrates prisoner swap in Mali

Caleb Weiss | October 12, 2020

In exchange for the release of dozens of imprisoned members from Mali’s prisons, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has freed four hostages, three of them foreign. JNIM has since celebrated the prisoner swap, including a personal appearance by its overall emir, Iyad Ag Ghaly, in northern Mali.

Islamic State claims killing French aid workers, clashes with al Qaeda in the Sahel

Caleb Weiss | September 19, 2020

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.