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| Terror Networks |
| Report on the evolution of the Islamic State in the Sahel |
| 2026-06-18 |
| [SoufanCenter] The Islamic State (IS) has been active in the Sahel region for more than a decade and has entered a new phase as it seeks to consolidate its territorial control in the region. Since 2022, the strategic goal of IS has been to consolidate its two most powerful affiliates in Africa, the West Africa and Sahel Provinces. The U.S. strikes in Nigeria’s northern state of Sokoto, on the border with Niger, on December 25, 2025, and the joint U.S.-Nigerian operation that killed Abu Bilal al-Minuki, an important figure in Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), on May 16, 2026, attest to the growing threat posed by these provinces. The two operations serve a necessary aim: countering the group by severing the links between West Africa and the Sahel province and working to contain terrorist violence in a region engulfed by jihadist activity and a war between al-Qaeda (AQ) and the IS affiliates. Although AQ’s Sahelian affiliate Jamaa’t Nusra’t al-islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) remains the most dominant jihadist force in the Sahel, contested only by Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP) in Mali’s Ménaka region and northeast Burkina Faso, the IS affiliate has demonstrated significant and growing operational capabilities since 2019. That year, it demonstrated the ability to maintain a high operational tempo with deadly attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. It also marked the first battles between ISSP and JNIM, which continue to occur on and off and ebb and flow in terms of intensity. Since then, ISSP has continued to expand its footprint and, in January 2026, with its deadly attack on Niamey’s international airport, demonstrated its expanding capabilities to strike hard targets. More at the link. Report is in pdf format. Related: Sahel: 2026-06-15 Nigeria: United States 🇺🇸 Air-Force Gulf-stream departed from southwest and north central Nigeria Sahel: 2026-06-15 Northern Ireland Situation Report Sahel: 2026-06-15 Colonel Daffi Ag Mandoli and Chief Warrant Officer Inagni Ag Rhissa deserted the ranks of the FAMa in Gao and joined the FLA Related: West Africa: 2026-06-15 Nigeria: United States 🇺🇸 Air-Force Gulf-stream departed from southwest and north central Nigeria West Africa: 2026-06-14 How Nigerian terrorists use TikTok, exploit country’s digital governance gap West Africa: 2026-06-14 JNIM Escalates Sahelian Offensives Amid Fratricidal War with ISSP Related: Sokoto: 2026-06-17 Nigeria: As rain returns to Zamfara, so do terror attacks on local farmers Sokoto: 2026-06-07 Nigeria: Still, there is nothing where Satiru was (1906 – 2026) Sokoto: 2026-06-02 The Nigerian Army conducted raids into several suspected Islamic State - Sahel Province (ISSP) Related: Abu Bilal al-Minuki 05/19/2026 The al-Minuki raid raises questions about Nigeria-US military ties Related: JNIM: 2026-06-17 Mali: JNIM is now extending its recruitment within the Bambara community JNIM: 2026-06-16 Good Morning JNIM: 2026-06-16 Trump's critical minerals pricing plan faces skeptical G7, divided industry Related: Ménaka: 2026-06-15 Colonel Daffi Ag Mandoli and Chief Warrant Officer Inagni Ag Rhissa deserted the ranks of the FAMa in Gao and joined the FLA Ménaka: 2026-05-14 Mali army and the Russian Afrika Corps 🇷🇺 are multiplying counterattacks, regaining control of several base Ménaka: 2026-04-30 Evolution of the fighting in Mali, day by day, since the start of the assault on Saturday, April 25 |
| Posted by:badanov |