Islamic State video details extent of attack in Niamey
In a newly released video by the Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency, the group details its attack against Niger’s Diori Hamani International Airport and Air Base 101 in the capital Niamey....
Sahel
Islamic State claims assault on airport in Niger’s capital
In a short statement released online via its Amaq News Agency propaganda outlet, the Islamic State took credit for last week’s assault on Niger’s Diori Hamani International Airport and Air Base 101...
Op-eds
U.S. Launches Effort To Address Christian Persecution in Nigeria
The Trump administration has launched an effort to help protect Nigerian Christians. In response to escalating attacks by armed Islamists, Washington established a joint working group to offer American...
Policy Briefs
US strikes Islamic State in Nigeria
On December 25, US President Donald Trump announced that he ordered US strikes against Islamic State targets in northwestern Nigeria in retaliation for the group’s targeting of Christian communities...
Op-eds
Africa’s Collapse Is a Threat to America and Israel
Regions in Africa are collapsing. Across most of the continent’s 54 countries, governments are tyrannical, Islamist, or both. Many have ceased to function as states, splintering into warring ethnic and...
Op-eds
Kidnapping of U.S. Missionary Shines Light on Persecution of Christians in Africa
Concern is growing over the whereabouts of Kevin Rideout, an American missionary abducted on October 21 in the West African state of Niger. The seizure of this 48-year-old pilot, who works for...
Op-eds
American abducted by suspected jihadists in Niger
On Tuesday, Kevin Rideout, an American missionary in the West African state of Niger, was abducted from his home in the country’s capital, as first reported by CBS News. Rideout had lived in Niamey...
Op-eds
5 Recent Instances of Foreign Malign Influence Threatening U.S. National Security
America is letting its adversaries win the information war. The latest blow to U.S. efforts to fight this war came in August, when the U.S. intelligence community learned of the reduction in size and reorganization...
Insights
How the United States Can Fight and Win in the Cognitive Domain
In May 2024, U.S. troops began withdrawing from Niger after the country ended a military agreement several months earlier that allowed the U.S. Department of Defense to operate from the country.1 A...
Op-eds
Iraqi intel busts Islamic State financial network in West Africa
The Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) announced yesterday that it rolled up an Islamic State (IS) financial network that spanned three unspecified West African countries. According to Iraqi media...
Op-eds
Why the Polisario Front Threatens Morocco—and the Region
An independent Western Sahara run by the Polisario Front would likely turn into another source of regional insecurity.
Op-eds
Iran’s Foothold Reaches Into North Africa
In the early days of the Israel-Hamas war, Iran issued a baffling threat: if Israel did not relent in Gaza, Tehran would close the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow maritime passage separating Africa from...
Policy Briefs
5 Reasons Why South Africa Must Remain on FATF’s Financial Crime Watchlist
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed South Africa on its “grey list” in February 2023, identifying critical weaknesses in the country’s ability to combat money laundering and terrorist financing....
Insights
Israel SitRep: December 30, 2024
Today’s Issue: | IDF Troops Eliminate “Many Dozens” of Terrorists in Overnight Ambush in Jabalya Area | IDF, Operating in Northern Gaza, Eliminates 14 Terrorists, Including Six October 7 Participants...
Israel at War Situation Report
Turkey and JNIM: Jihadist messaging signals possible conflict between two ascending forces in the central Sahel
After years of Turkey progressively asserting its position in the central Sahel, recent months have seen Jamaat Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin (The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims, JNIM), Al Qaeda’s...
Op-eds
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...
Op-eds
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...
Op-eds
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...
Op-eds
Shabaab advertises creation of “special forces” unit
In a newly released video, Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, announced and advertised the creation of its new so-called ‘special forces’ unit. The new unit also has its own specific training...
Op-eds
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...