Generation Jihad Ep. 25 – Another Coup in Mali
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio are joined by Caleb Weiss, a longtime contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio are joined by Caleb Weiss, a longtime contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal.
JNIM claims its first suicide bombing of the year on French troops in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali.
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.
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.
In the latest edition of its Al-Naba newsletter, the Islamic State claims that Al Qaeda started a war against the so-called caliphate’s men in West Africa. Independent reporting shows the two sides have clashed in recent weeks.
The two jihadist groups continue their rampage in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
The attack in Mali’s northern Gao region is one of the deadliest in recent months.
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.
Two recently released booklets by the al Qaeda group are likely meant to assuage tensions both within and outside its organization.
It is unclear if the unit represents a splinter of al Qaeda’s JNIM, though the group now represents an Islamic State-loyal faction close to the borders with Mauritania.
The al Qaeda group has claimed a series of attacks across the Sahel in recent weeks.
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.
The large video details several major Islamic State operations inside the Sahel over the last few years.
In addition to the prison break, JNIM also claimed two other recent attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Abu Abdul Rahman al Sanhaji’s death, if confirmed, follows the death of several other high-profile JNIM leaders over the past two years.
No group has yet to claim the attacks, but al Qaeda-linked militants have been widely blamed.
Both groups have claimed deadly assaults in Burkina Faso, playing into the already perilous security situation in the country.
After killing at least 14 civilians in a landmine explosion last week, al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslim’s offers a rare apology.
JNIM took credit for last month’s suicide assault in Gao, Mali. According to the French, however, the attack was largely a failure.
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.
The jihadist group also claimed an assault on a high-security prison near the capital of Niamey.
French forces reportedly killed dozens of jihadists after a three-week long operation in central Mali.
The Islamic State issued several claims of responsibility for attacks by the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of civilians who have been murdered by both jihadists and government forces in Burkina Faso. This helps exacerbate the conditions that allow jihadists to operate in the region.
The jihadist conglomerate, as suspected, claimed Sunday’s deadly siege on a military base in central Mali.
While no group has yet to officially claim the assault, al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims is widely suspected.
Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims directly refutes France’s claiming of killing one of its co-founders and senior leaders, Amadou Kouffa.
The claim has not been confirmed elsewhere, nor has JNIM commented on the event, but the French military has claimed a recent operation killed JNIM co-founder Yahya Abu al Hammam.
Over the weekend, al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) claimed a series of attacks across Mali, continuing its recent uptick in activity. Most notably, the group took credit for a dubious suicide bombing attempt on French troops near the northern city of Timbuktu “Continuing its earlier vow to escalate its operations […]
Several attacks in both Mali and Burkina Faso were claimed by al Qaeda’s jihadist conglomerate JNIM.