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Analysis: Al Qaeda groups reorganize in West Africa
On Mar. 2, a new al Qaeda joint venture in West Africa was announced. The “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” is led by Ansar Dine’s Iyad Ag Ghaly and is openly loyal to Ayman al Zawahiri. It brings together four groups that were already part of al Qaeda’s international network.
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AQIM claims massive suicide attack on Malian base
The suicide bombing, which left at least 50 people dead, is one of the largest terrorist attacks in Mali’s history.
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Al Qaeda linked to more than 250 West African attacks in 2016
With at least 257 al Qaeda-linked attacks in Mali and its neighboring countries, this represents a significant uptick in the al Qaeda-led insurgency in northern Mali in recent years.
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Jihadists launch coordinated assault in Burkina Faso
The coordinated assault blamed on jihadists has left nearly a dozen Burkinabe soldiers dead.
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Suspected jihadists launch jailbreak in southern Mali
No one has claimed the assault, but Ansar Dine was behind a jailbreak last month.
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AQIM claims two attacks in northern Mali
The two attacks, including a suicide bombing, targeted foreign bases at airports in northern Mali. Al Qaeda has launched more than 200 attacks in Mali and the neighboring countries in the past year.
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Ansar Dine claims string of attacks across Mali
The total number of al Qaeda-linked attacks in Mali in 2016 now sits at 203.
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AQIM executes Tuareg prisoners in video
The al Qaeda branch executes several alleged spies for regional and French forces.
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Islamic State recognizes oath of allegiance from jihadists in Mali
The Islamic State has officially recognized a loyalty oath sworn by Abu Walid al Sahrawi, a jihadist based in West Africa. Sahrawi first swore his fealty to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in May 2015. It is not clear why it took so long for the so-called caliphate to recognize him as one of its representatives.
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Niger thwarts jihadist prison break attempt
Today’s attempted prison break is just the most recent in a spate of attacks in Niger from suspected Malian-based jihadists.
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American aid worker reportedly kidnapped in Niger
No group has to yet to claim this, but al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has been behind several kidnappings of Westerners in Niger in the past.
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Suspected jihadists attack Nigerien refugee camp
The attack was reportedly perpetrated by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, but no group has yet to claim the assault.
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Ansar Dine claims series of attacks in northern Mali
The Tuareg al Qaeda front claimed a coordinated assault on UN troops yesterday in northern Mali, which included two separate incidents of shelling and IED attacks.
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Islamic State’s Sahara branch claims first attack in Burkina Faso
The claim, if it is confirmed, marks the first Islamic State attack in the Sahel.
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Jihadists reportedly capture town in central Mali
Jihadists have reportedly gained control over the town of Boni after the military retreated. Additionally, today’s spate of attacks in Mali, mainly in the central regions of Mopti and Segou, marks one of the most active days for jihadist groups in Mali
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Ansar Dine claims multiple attacks across Mali
The Tuareg jihadist group has recently claimed a spate of attacks, mainly against French forces, across Mali.
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Ansar Dine shows captured Malian army soldiers
Despite not previously reporting taking hostages during last month’s attack in Nampala, Ansar Dine is now claiming to have captured five Malian soldiers during the large-scale assault.
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Malian military base targeted in southern Mali
The assault is one of the largest on a Malian military base in recent years, and has left twice as many Malian soldiers dead as last year’s attack on the same base.
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Al Qaeda has launched more than 100 attacks in West Africa in 2016
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and associated groups have unleashed a string of attacks in Mali and elsewhere in West Africa this year.
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Ansar Dine’s branch in southern Mali releases first video
The first video promises to be the first of many of Ansar Dine’s southern branch. Ansar Dine’s Katibat Macina, which is more commonly known as the Macina Liberation Front, is integrated within al Qaeda’s larger strategy for Mali and West Africa.
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Jihadists strike across northern Mali
Jihadists in Mali continue to prove their potency in the north by launching a spate of attacks in recent days. One such assault left a French special forces soldier dead and three others wounded.
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AQIM claims attack on Algerian gas plant
AQIM says the attack is meant to show that it can target Algeria in “whatever area we want, and to let you know that your fortifications that you have made will not prevent the strikes of the mujahideen from reaching you.”
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AQIM targets beach resort in Ivory Coast
Al Qaeda continues to prioritize targeting hotels, which are considered soft targets, across the African continent. AQIM has launched assaults on several hotels in West Africa in recent months, while Shabaab regularly targets hotels in Somalia.
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Ansar Dine claims four attacks in Mali
Al Qaeda groups operating in Mali continue to be a threat to both local and regional security.
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French special forces target al Qaeda commanders in Mali
The raids targeted AQIM field commander Abu al Nour al Andalusi, a Spanish national, and the Saudi spokesman for Al Murabitoon, Abu Dujana al Qasimi. Neither the French nor AQIM have commented on the raids, which are said to have occurred in recent days.
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Jihadists launch assaults on UN, Malian forces in northern Mali
The UN’s mission in Mali continues to be one of the most dangerous peacekeeping operations in the world.
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UN, Malian forces retake police base captured by jihadists
Attacks like this continue to show that the security situation inside Mali, especially in the north and increasingly in the south, is still volatile despite a French-led counterterrorism mission and an UN peacekeeping force inside the country.
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Ansar Dine highlights attack on Tuareg separatists in Mali
The attack last month comes as tensions between Ansar Dine, a Tuareg al Qaeda group, and several Tuareg separatist groups in northern Mali have escalated.
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AQIM takes Australian couple hostage in northern Burkina Faso
The Al Qaeda group continues to take Western hostages throughout the Sahara and the Sahel.
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Al Qaeda’s hotel siege ends in West Africa
Despite a French-led counterterrorism mission throughout the Sahara and Sahel, Al Qaeda has been able to retain the ability to launch attacks in Mali and increasingly in neighboring countries.
