القاعدة وداعش يفتتحان جبهة الطائرات المسيّرة في الساحل#Mali #Niger #NIGERIA #JNIM #ISGS
— عمر الأنصاري | Oumar Alansari (@Oumar_Alansari) February 9, 2026
تشير معطيات أمنية حديثة إلى تحوّل لافت في تكتيكات الجماعات المتطرفة في منطقة الساحل، مع شروع فصائل مرتبطة بـ تنظيم القاعدة وتنظيم الدولة الإسلامية في توسيع استخدام الطائرات المسيّرة التجارية،… pic.twitter.com/dfHbNGdUij
Translated Text:
and ISIS open the drone front in the Sahel
#Mali #Niger #NIGERIA #JNIM #ISGS
Recent security data indicate a noticeable shift in the tactics of extremist groups in the Sahel region, with factions linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization beginning to expand their use of commercial drones, thereby opening what could be described as a “low-cost, high-impact war front from the sky.”
According to ACLED data, dozens of incidents involving the use or attempted use of drones by groups linked to Al-Qaeda have been recorded since 2023 in Mali and Burkina Faso, compared to a smaller number carried out by ISIS-affiliated branches, most of which were concentrated in Nigeria. These drones, which are smuggled into the region through cross-border smuggling networks, are primarily used for reconnaissance and surveillance, with only limited attempts recorded to arm them with rudimentary explosive devices.
BBC reports and analyses by security research centers confirm that this development does not yet amount to a full-fledged air war, but it represents a qualitative leap in the trajectory of the armed insurgency. It reflects the extremist groups’ efforts to compensate for their lack of air superiority through cheap and flexible tools, signaling a growing complexity in the security landscape of the Sahel and an increase in the cost of countering them in the coming period.
How off-the-shelf drones are changing jihadist warfare in West Africa
by Makuochi Okafor
[BBC] Jihadist groups are increasingly carrying out drone strikes in West Africa, raising alarm that they are building the capacity to wage a "war from the skies".
A leading violence monitoring organisation, Acled, has recorded at least 69 drone strikes by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Burkina Faso and Mali since 2023, while two Islamic State (IS) affiliates have carried out around 20 - mostly in Nigeria, which has been battling numerous insurgent groups for almost 25 years.
The latest drone attack took place in Nigeria's north-eastern Borno state on 29 January, when jihadists carried out a two-pronged assault - with multiple armed drones and ground fighters - on a military base.
The military said nine of its soldiers were killed in the attack by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (Iswap) - identified by Acled as the "most prolific" IS African affiliate in "drone warfare".
The jihadists tended to carry out strikes with "commercially available, relatively inexpensive quadcopter [unmanned] drones" that were "rigged with explosives", while also using them for reconnaissance and surveillance missions in preparation for ground attacks, Acled senior Africa analyst Ladd Serwat told the BBC.
Despite the fact that Nigeria's government tightly controls the import of commercial and hobby drones and prohibits their use without official permission, the jihadists were able to obtain them through their smuggling networks across the region's porous borders, said a Nigeria-based senior researcher at the Good Governance Africa think-tank, Malik Samuel.
More at the link