Mauritania

August 14, 2013 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

The Cuban in the Desert

In April 2011, a post appeared on the leading jihadist web forum Shumukh al-Islam authored by a little known writer called Abu As...

March 25, 2013 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

France Confirms Death of Senior AQIM Commander Abou Zeid

French President François Hollande issued a statement confirming the death of Abdel Mejid Abou Zeid, a top al Qaeda commander who served as the deputy to Yahya Abu Hammam, the head of al Q...

March 11, 2013 | The Long War Journal

Confusion Reigns in Confirming Deaths of Senior AQIM Leaders in Mali

By LWJ Staff The fate of fugitive al Qaeda affiliate Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the mastermind of the deadly terrorist assault against an Algerian gas plant in January, remains uncerta...

March 4, 2013 | The Long War Journal

Chadian Forces Claim Raid Killed Top Algerian Jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar

By LWJ Staff Chadian military forces in Mali claimed to have killed fugitive al Qaeda affiliate Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the...

February 19, 2013 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

US Adds Senior AQIM Commander to Terrorist List

The US added the head of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's operations in the Sahel region of North Africa to the list of global terrorists yesterday. Yahya Abu Hammam, whose real na...

February 15, 2013 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Al Qaeda in Mali Sought to Hide Foreign Designs

A "confidential letter" from Abdelmalek Droukdel, the emir of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, to his fighters in northern Mali shows that the group sought to use the country to wage a global jih...

January 22, 2013 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Gunpowder & Lead

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Al Qaeda’s Senior Leadership

With recent events in Mali and Algeria, there is a notable uptick in interest in Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). One question commentators are asking is what the relationship is between A...

January 21, 2013 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

Belmokhtar Claims Algerian Raid, Slaying of Hostages for al Qaeda

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the head of the jihadist brigade that launched the deadly suicide assault on the In Amenas gas facility in southeastern Algeria, has claimed the attack in al Qaeda's name...

January 16, 2013 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross The Globe and Mail

The War’s in Mali, But the Danger is International

Since France began aerial bombardment of Islamist rebels in Mali last week, the larger worry has shifted from within the beleaguered country’s borders to the wider world. There are concerns...

December 10, 2012 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal

US Adds West African Group, 2 Leaders, to Terrorism List

The US government has added the al Qaeda-linked Movement for Tawhid [Unity] and Jihad in West Africa and two of its leaders to the list of global terrorists and entities. The Movement for Tawhid...

September 11, 2012 | |

The Real Rules of the U.N. Human Rights Council

High-profile genocide is a no-no—but dictatorship, slavery, and anti-Semitism are A-OK.

July 11, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal |

Senior al Qaeda Ideologue Freed in Mauritania

Family members of top al Qaeda ideologue Abu Hafs al Mauritani have confirmed that he was freed this past weekend. Abu Hafs was transferred from Iran, where he had lived since late 2001, to Mauri...

April 12, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal |

Senior al Qaeda Ideologue Leaves Iran for Mauritania

Abu Hafs al Mauritani, a senior al Qaeda religious thinker known as "Mr. Theology," has reportedly left Iran for his home country. According to some press accounts, the Iranians "extradited" Abu...

September 5, 2011 | Emanuele Ottolenghi |

The Arab Winter of Discontent

Ten months on, the Arab explosion has shown its truer – more nuanced and complicated – colors.

June 30, 2011 | Standpoint |

Arab Spring Sprung?

How's democracy doing so far in the much celebrated and slightly mislabelled Arab Spring? There are 22 members of the Arab League, which include such Arab countries as the Comoros I...

June 15, 2011 | World Defense Review

Criminal Networks in West Africa: An Emerging Security Challenge

On April 30, Sidi Ould Sidna, a.k.a. Abou Jendel, an al-Qaeda-linked militant who was escaped earlier in the month from the courthouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania, where he was being tried for the...

June 14, 2011 | Dr. J. Peter Pham World Defense Review

Milestone in Partnership to Counter Terrorism in the Sahel

By Dr. J. Peter Pham Last Saturday, military personnel from the Unites States and thirteen African and European countries wrapped up a joint military exercise in the Malian capi...

June 14, 2011 | World Defense Review

The War on Terrorism in Africa: Assessment and Prospects

The end of one year and the beginning of another is a good time both to take stock of where we have been and to look ahead at the paths we are likely to take and the battles which we will have to...

June 13, 2011 | Journal of International Security Affairs

Securing Africa

 On February 6, 2007, President George W. Bush launched a major evolution in American military posture when he formally announced that he had directed the Pentagon to establish a new unified...

April 12, 2011 | Jonathan Schanzer

The Real Target in Libya Should Be al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda’s North African affiliate is exploiting the conflict in Libya to acquire weapons, an Algerian official told Reuters last week. Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is reportedly...