Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Archives

Jihadi History: Al-Qaeda’s failed mobilization efforts in Central African Republic

Caleb Weiss | February 20, 2024

In early 2014, as Muslim civilians were being massacred in Central African Republic as part of a cycle of violence between Muslim and Christian militias, al-Qaeda went on a full-court press in an attempt to foster any jihadist movement to take up arms in the country. These attempts, however, largely fell on deaf ears. As such, this offers a unique glimpse into when, and potentially how, jihadist mobilization attempts fail.

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: 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.

Ayman al Zawahiri is alive; Taliban and Al Qaeda “remain close,” UN reports

Bill Roggio | July 19, 2022

Zawahiri lives. The Taliban-Al Qaeda alliance remains strong. The leaders of Al Qaeda’s branches in North and East Africa have assumed roles in Al Qaeda’s line of succession.

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.

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.

State Department announces reward for information on AQIM leader

Thomas Joscelyn | June 3, 2021

The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information concerning the leader of AQIM, Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi. State says al-Anabi “is expected to play a role in al Qaeda’s global management.”

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.

Generation Jihad Ep. 19 – Al Qaeda in 2020

Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio | July 21, 2020

Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn discuss what al Qaeda looks like in 2020.

AQIM confirms leader’s death

Caleb Weiss | June 18, 2020

AQIM has released an audio message confirming the death of its longtime emir, Abdulmalek Droukdel.

Generation Jihad Ep. 14 – The Demise of an Al Qaeda Emir in Mali

Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio | June 16, 2020

Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the life and reported death of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s emir, Abdulmalek Droukdel.

Jihadists target military outpost in Ivory Coast

Caleb Weiss | June 11, 2020

While JNIM has not claimed the assault, its Katibat Macina is widely suspected of perpetrating the attack. This comes after sustained operations against it in the area last month.

AQIM emir reportedly killed by French forces in Mali

Thomas Joscelyn | June 6, 2020

French and American officials say the emir of AQIM, Abdelmalek Droukdel (a.k.a. Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud), was killed in a counterterrorism operation in northern Mali on June 3. The U.S. military supported the French-led operation.

Al Qaeda-affiliated media shop promotes worldwide operations

Thomas Joscelyn and Caleb Weiss | April 11, 2020

Thabat, an al-Qaeda-affiliated media outfit, has released a series of infographics that are intended to highlight the group’s global reach and resiliency. The images trumpet a large number of purported attacks in Afghanistan, as well as America’s withdrawal from the country.

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

Thomas Joscelyn | March 10, 2020

Al Qaeda’s branch in West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, has released a statement saying it is willing to meet with the Malian government — but only after French and allied forces withdraw from the area.

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

Thomas Joscelyn | January 20, 2020

Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership released a statement praising the jihadists in Mali and elsewhere in Western Africa for confronting the “Crusaders.” Al-Qaeda’s management team encourages them to dismantle the “French and American project” across the region.

US sanctions leaders of al Qaeda in Mali

Caleb Weiss | July 16, 2019

Two leaders of al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a Moroccan national and a local Malian, were designated as terrorists today.

AQIM leader mixes populism with jihadism in criticism of France

Thomas Joscelyn | December 11, 2018

In a new audio message, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s emir, Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud, tries to capitalize on popular discontent in France. He fuses populist economic arguments with his jihadist ideology to critique France’s intervention in Africa.

AQIM claims Tuareg youth killed in US airstrike

Thomas Joscelyn | December 5, 2018

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has released a statement claiming that the victims of an American airstrike on Nov. 29 “were a group of Tuareg youth” and not members of the organization. US Africa Command previously said that 11 AQIM “terrorists” were killed and three vehicles destroyed in the “precision airstrike near Al Uwaynat, Libya.”

US strikes target al Qaeda in Libya, Somalia

Bill Roggio | December 4, 2018

The US military hit al Qaeda’s branches in Somalia and Libya twice over the past several days, killing 20 fighters in strikes that appear to have targeted the groups’ military capacity.

Al Qaeda branch claims IED attack on Tunisian soldiers

Caleb Weiss | October 4, 2018

The IED claim is the group’s first since July and just the second attack claim of the year for the small Tunisian Al Qaeda wing.

Al Qaeda is very much alive, and widely misunderstood

Thomas Joscelyn | September 11, 2018

AL Qaeda’s operatives are fighting in more countries around the world today than was the case on 9/11. And its leaders still want to target the United States and its interest and allies. The war they started is far from over.

US designates al Qaeda’s branch in Mali as terror organization

Thomas Joscelyn and Caleb Weiss | September 5, 2018

The State Department announced today that it has designated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), al Qaeda’s branch in Mali and West Africa, as a terrorist organization. JNIM and its leader, Iyad Ghali, are openly loyal to al Qaeda and the Taliban’s emir.

US airstrike kills Islamic State terrorist in northern Libya

Bill Roggio & Alexandra Gutowski | August 28, 2018

This is the first strike since early June, when the United States targeted both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in separate strikes in Bani Walid.

American forces kill senior al Qaeda leader in Libya

Bill Roggio & Alexandra Gutowski | March 28, 2018

The US military announced that it killed Musa Abu Dawud, a high-ranking al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader in Libya, in an airstrike last weekend. Dawud is an established jihadist who has been in the fight with the GSPC and AIQM for at least three decades.

State Department designates 3 al Qaeda figures as global terrorists

Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio | January 4, 2018

One of the leaders “planned” the March 2015 Bardo Museum attack in Tunis, which was claimed by the Islamic State. Another serves as Shabaab’s deputy emir.

Understanding al Qaeda through the massive trove of Osama bin Laden’s files

The LWJ Editors | November 18, 2017

On Nov. 17, The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and FDD’s Long War Journal held an event to discuss the findings from the recently released documents from Osama bin Laden’s compound.

US resumes strikes against Islamic State in Libya

Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio | September 30, 2017

US Africa Command launched airstrikes against the Islamic State in Libya for the first time in eight months. AFRICOM also revealed to FDD’s Long War Journal that an estimated 800 to 900 Islamic State fighters were killed during Operation Odyssey Lightning’s air campaign in Sirte last year.

The US Intelligence Community’s newest assessment of the jihadist threat

Thomas Joscelyn | May 15, 2017

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented its written “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate last week. The analysis confirms that the Islamic State is capable of sustaining insurgencies in both Iraq and Syria, Afghan security continues to “deteriorate,” and al Qaeda remains a threat in several parts of the globe.