Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin

October 19, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

Al Qaeda’s da’wah campaign in West Africa

Over this month, 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...

September 18, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

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...

August 26, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

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. The strike took place in the...

July 29, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

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

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...

July 13, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

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...

May 25, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

JNIM documents training camp in Burkina Faso

The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al-Qaeda’s branch for the Sahel and wider West Africa, released photos earlier today documenting a rudimentary training camp somewhere in Burkina Faso.  The...

April 5, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

Islamic State’s current da’wah campaign across Africa

Since the beginning of the year, the Islamic State’s central media apparatus has made a concerted effort to highlight its men engaging in da’wah across the African continent. These actions...

October 13, 2023 | Caleb Weiss |

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

In a joint statement released online, al-Qaeda’s branches in North Africa and West Africa, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), respectively,...

September 11, 2023 | Caleb Weiss |

Analysis: Setting the stage for Mali’s near future

Mali’s immediate and near future prospects for security are immensely bleak. France, and many of its international counter-terrorism partners, are long gone. The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission...

April 20, 2023 | Caleb Weiss |

Analysis: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb encourages its Sahelian wing to continue fighting the Islamic State

In a newly released video, Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri, a senior ideologue within al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), sends a message of encouragement to AQIM’s Sahelian wing, the Group for Support of...

January 23, 2023 | Caleb Weiss |

Northern Mali clans swear allegiance to JNIM

Over the weekend, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al Qaeda’s branch in the Sahel and much of West Africa, published photos showing several notables from various local clans in northern...

January 12, 2023 | Bill Roggio, Caleb Weiss

State places $10 million bounty on Kenyan Shabaab commander

Just a few days after placing a similar bounty on Maalim Ayman, the head of Shabaab’s Kenyan military wing, the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program is now also offering $10 million for...

December 13, 2022 | Caleb Weiss |

German national freed in the Sahel after years of jihadist captivity

Late last week, German national Jorg Lange was freed in the Sahel after spending the last four years being held by the Islamic State’s Sahel Province (more commonly known as the Islamic State in the Greater...

September 17, 2022 | Caleb Weiss |

Islamic State claims first attacks inside Benin

Through its weekly Al-Naba newsletter earlier this week, the Islamic State officially claimed its first two operations inside Benin. The attacks now join the chorus of strikes committed inside the littoral...

April 30, 2021 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Bin Laden Is Long Gone, but He Sparked a Jihadist Revolution

An Islamic caliphate was his ultimate political goal and remains al-Qaeda’s chief objective to this day.

May 8, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn, Caleb Weiss

Analysis: Islamic State claims Al Qaeda started a war in West Africa

The Islamic State claims in the latest edition of its weekly Al-Naba newsletter that Al Qaeda started a “war” against the so-called caliphate’s men in West Africa. Independent reporting confirms...

May 4, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Analysis: The Islamic State’s ideological campaign against al-Qaeda

On April 29, the Islamic State’s “province” (wilayah) in Yemen released a lengthy video that is intended to undermine al-Qaeda’s ideological legitimacy within the jihadists’ ranks. The 50-plus...

March 10, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Al Qaeda’s West African branch seeks French withdrawal, then negotiations

Al-Qaeda’s branch in West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM, or the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims”), has released a two-page statement setting forth its position on...

January 20, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership praises jihadists in Mali and Somalia

Al-Qaeda’s senior management, or general command, has released a two-page statement praising the jihadists in Mali and Somalia. Al-Qaeda has strong branches in both East and West Africa, and the international...

September 11, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Ayman al-Zawahiri defends 9/11 hijackings in anniversary address

Ayman al-Zawahiri defends the 9/11 hijackings in a video released on the 18th anniversary of al-Qaeda’s most devastating attack. The production, released by al-Qaeda’s As Sahab propaganda arm, is titled...