Jihadists target military outpost in Ivory Coast
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.
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.
Amadou Kouffa, the leader of JNIM’s Katibat Macina, has been designated as a global terrorist by the US State Department.
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.
Earlier this month, four al Qaeda groups in West Africa merged to form the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims.” Its constituent organizations launched more than 250 attacks across the region in 2016, a significant increase in the jihadists’ operational tempo from the previous year.
On Mar. 2, a new al Qaeda joint venture in West Africa was announced. The “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” is led by Ansar Dine’s Iyad Ag Ghaly and is openly loyal to Ayman al Zawahiri. It brings together four groups that were already part of al Qaeda’s international network.
The video shows the aftermath of an ambush on Malian troops in central Mali last month. The jihadist group’s two battalions that operate in central and southern Mali continue to threaten the region.