DAMASCUS, SYRIA (7:00 P.M.) – The official Al-Qaeda branch in West Africa, a franchise group known as ‘Support of Islam and Muslims’ (JNIM), has conducted its first attack against the Nigerian Armed Forces, claiming it to be an act of retaliation.
JNIM, which operates almost exclusively in Mali, said it had conducted the rare raid on June 5, targeting a Nigerian military camp in Tsawah, Medal. This frontier village lies in western Niger, not far from the eastern border of Mali.
The Al-Qaeda affiliate said over a dozen Nigerian soldiers were killed in the cross-border attack which saw the army barracks overwhelmed and a handful of military vehicles torched. With other troops fleeing the military outpost, JNIM seized anti-aircraft guns, rocket launchers along with plenty of ammunition and light armaments. The militants later abandoned the site.
More images of the aforementioned Al-Qaeda raid:
Chris Tomson | AMN
Chris Tomson | AMNIn early March 2017, three extremist factions based in Mali (Ansar Dine, Al-Mourabitoun and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb) announced that they had merged into one group and pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda’s leader. The newly formed jihadist coalition is led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, a native of the Kidal region.
Islamic extremists linked to Al-Qaida took over northern Mali in 2012, exploiting a power vacuum after mutinous soldiers overthrew the president. French-backed forces pushed the extremists from strongholds the following year, but attacks have continued and progressed south.
The Nigerian Army since got involved in the battle for Mali, operating side-by-side with a French coalition to defeat Al-Qaeda, although it is also fighting the ISIS-linked Boko Haram at home.
In somewhat related news, Al-Shaabab (Somali jihadist group) released a rare propaganda video:
1 - 1Share
Be Civil
This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion
Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.
These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.
Make it better
Improve the Discussion
Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.
Now the hard part!
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.