On Oct. 9, a statement attributed to Mokhtar Belmokhtar was circulated online. The message eulogizes Sheikh Ag Aoussa, a prominent Tuareg leader who was reportedly killed in an explosion after attending a meeting at a UN camp in Mali. The statement’s author, presumably Belmokhtar, blames France for Aoussa’s death and calls on tribes to turn against the French.
The Pentagon has confirmed that Ahmed Salama Mabrouk was killed in an Oct. 3 airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province. According to Defense Department Press Secretary Peter Cook, Mabrouk was “one of Al Qaeda’s most senior leaders” and his death is “a blow to their ability to plot external attacks.” Mabrouk was one of the most senior officials in Jabhat Fath al Sham, al Qaeda’s rebranded branch in Syria.
The attack was reportedly perpetrated by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, but no group has yet to claim the assault.
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.
Fifteen years after 9/11, Al Qaeda remains a threat to the West despite not carrying out a large-scale attack in years. The group is waging insurgencies in several countries and is far larger than it was on 9/11.
The claim, if it is confirmed, marks the first Islamic State attack in the Sahel.
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
The claim marks the first group’s first attack since July and an earlier ambush in March.
The Tuareg jihadist group has recently claimed a spate of attacks, mainly against French forces, across Mali.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and associated groups have unleashed a string of attacks in Mali and elsewhere in West Africa this year.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Al Nusrah Front have jointly issued a eulogy for Mullah Mansour, the Taliban’s chief leader. Mansour was killed in an American drone strike on May 21.
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.
Al Jazeera has reportedly obtained an audio message from Adnan Abu Walid al Sahrawi in which he threatens to attack Morocco. Little has been heard from Sahrawi since May 2015, when he broke from Al Murabitoon and declared his fealty to the Islamic State. If the message is authentic, then it could indicate that he and his men plan on initiating new operations.
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.
The Tunisian state continues to face a jihadist threat from both the Kasserine region and what is emanating from the Libyan border.
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.”
An infographic in the Islamic State’s Al Naba newsletter highlights the “caliphate’s” fighting against both its jihadist rivals and the Libyan Army in the eastern city of Derna. The Islamic State was forced out of Derna’s center last year, even as it gained ground elsewhere in Libya.
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.
Al Qaeda groups operating in Mali continue to be a threat to both local and regional security.
Newly released files recovered in Osama bin Laden’s compound reveal that al Qaeda’s leadership drafted a truce proposal for the Mauritanian government. There is no evidence in the files that Mauritania agreed to the deal, which would have allowed al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to operate freely in the country. In a separate letter, AQIM emir Abdelmalek Droukdel asked for bin Laden’s advice concerning the staffing of his elite Shura council.
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.
Despite facing a large crackdown from the Algerian military, the Islamic State’s branch still claims sporadic attacks in the country.
Despite having initially denied his death, AQIM finally confirms the death of one of its former spokesmen two years after his reported death.
The UN’s mission in Mali continues to be one of the most dangerous peacekeeping operations in the world.
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.
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.
The Al Qaeda group continues to take Western hostages throughout the Sahara and the Sahel.
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.
The Al Qaeda groups continue to strike at popular hotels throughout West Africa.
The attacks on the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad are likely an attempt to destabilize the movement and the region after several other Tuareg separatist movements signed a peace deal with the Malian government earlier this year.