Abu Ubayda al-Anabi Possibly Dead with AQIM Weak
Abu Ubayda al-Anabi Possibly Dead with AQIM Weak
Executive Summary:
- AQIM under Abu Ubayda al-Anabi has become largely symbolic, eclipsed by the far more active JNIM; his possible death in recent Malian airstrikes would have little operational impact.
- AQIM’s decline reflects an aging leadership and loss of relevance within the jihadist movement, signaling the effective end of Algeria-based al-Qaeda influence in the Sahel.
Even before French special forces killed al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) leader Abdelmalek Droukdel (Arabic: عبد المالك دروكدال) in June 2020 in northern Mali, the organization had already become a shell of its former self (Al Jazeera, June 6, 2020). AQIM is no longer capable of executing massive attacks and is playing second fiddle to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (Arabic: جماعة نصرة الاسلام والمسلمين, “Group for Support of Islam and Muslims,” JNIM) in the Sahel. Abu Ubayda Yusuf al-Anabi (Arabic: أبو عبيدة يوسف العنابي), whose given name is believed to be Mubarak Yazid (Arabic: مبارك يزيد), succeeded Droukdel in a new era where the organization was extremely weak.
