| Submit your comments on this article |
| Terror Networks |
| JNIM escalates Sahelian offensives amid fratricidal war with ISSP |
| 2026-07-01 |
| by Paweł Wójcik [JAMESTOWN.ORG] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The al-Qaeda affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State (IS) affiliate Islamic State in Sahel Province (ISSP) are engaged in a widespread fratricidal war. This violent rivalry has expanded from the Sahel region into littoral West African countries. Both jihadist groups continue to make advances against government forces despite heavy casualties from their infighting. They are increasingly attacking state security forces, besieging key locations, and applying pressure to larger towns. JNIM recently partnered with Tuareg forces to contest strategic locations in northern Mali, while a new U.S.-Nigerian military campaign may force IS leaders to heavily prioritize the Sahel. On April 6, Islamic State’s (IS) news agency Amaq released a statement from its Sahel affiliate, Islamic State in Sahel Province (ISSP). In the statement, the group claimed to have killed 35 al-Qaeda-aligned Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) militants in Niger’s western Tillaberi region. ISSP also claimed to have seized more than 30 weapons and 10 motorcycles from JNIM (X/@SimNasr, April 6; Reuters, April 9). Around the same period, JNIM uploaded a video to social media showing the capture and execution of an alleged ISGS member in Kebbi State, Nigeria, hundreds of kilometers south of the Niger battlefield (X/@SimNasr, April 8; Reuters, April 9). More at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |