Islamic State in Greater Sahara Sets Sights on Burkina Faso Jacob Zenn In late 2019, Islamic State (IS)’s Sahel-based fighters under the leadership of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi surged ahead of their al-Qaeda rivals in the Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nasr... MORE

Islamic State Receives Loyalty Pledge from Myanmar’s Rohingya Militants  Jacob Zenn Since 9/11, Islamic militants in virtually every country where they are waging an insurgency have allied or affiliated themselves with either al-Qaeda or Islamic State (IS). One of the rare exceptions, besides those fighting... MORE

Embattled France Rebuffs Negotiations After al-Qaeda Hostage Exchange in Mali Jacob Zenn On October 11, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)’s sub-affiliate in Mali, Group for Supporters of Muslims and Islam (Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin—JNIM), released photos featuring elder Malian Tuareg JNIM leader Iyad... MORE

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has historically been an Algeria-based and Algerian-led jihadist group. Nevertheless, AQIM has empowered, in particular, Malians by allowing them to lead AQIM’s Mali-based sub-affiliate, Group of Supporters of Islam and Muslims (Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin—JNIM). In addition, although... MORE

The town of Baga, Nigeria on Lake Chad’s shorelines is where Boko Haram originally made its mark as one of the world’s most lethal jihadist movements. In January 2015, when Boko Haram was conquering territory throughout northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State, the group finally captured Baga... MORE

Abdelmalek Droukdel (a.k.a. Abu Musab Abdel Wadud) was the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) since 2006—or since 2004, if his stint leading AQIM’s predecessor, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), is included. His death was announced on June 11, and... MORE

On June 15, Boko Haram released a video featuring English, French (Cameroonian), Fulani, and Hausa-speaking fighters “greeting” fellow fighters in Zamfara and Niger states. [1] Three weeks later, on July 7, Boko Haram released another video of fighters in Niger State returning “greetings” to Boko... MORE

Can and Will the SADC Help Contain Violence in Mozambique? Brian M. Perkins The insurgency in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province has continued to escalate over the past several months, prompting the South African Development Community (SADC)—a regional inter-governmental organization—to convene an emergency meeting of... MORE

There are few places as conducive to insurgency and terrorism as Borno state in northeastern Nigeria. Grinding poverty, ethnic and religious tensions, illicit networks, environmental degradation, porous international borders, and vast tracts of lightly governed and ungoverned spaces are all features of Borno state. On... MORE

Since Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS)’s killing of four U.S. special forces members in October 2017 in northwestern Niger, the group has increasingly become defined by France and allied Sahelian governments as the “priority” regional threat for counter-terrorism operations (Diplomatie.gouv.fr, January 13). ISGS peaked... MORE