US suspends military support to Mali after coup d’état

The United States has suspended all cooperation with Mali’s military following the overthrow of the Malian president by army officers, the U.S. envoy to West Africa’s Sahel region said on Friday. This comes despite thousands of Malians celebrating the overthrow in the streets of the capital of Bamako. U.S. envoy J. Peter Pham told the […]

Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorists fight it out in the Sahel

This article was written by Ana Maria Baloi and originally published on Grey Dynamics.  Why Does This Matter The Islamic State’s (IS) newspaper al-Naba reported that heavy fighting between the IS-affiliated Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) and al-Qaeda-aligned Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has been ongoing since 17 April 2020. ISGS blames JNIM for […]

American strategy in North Africa

This article was written by Louis Tayler and originally published on Grey Dynamics.  Key Judgements AFRICOM’s mission in North Africa is to limit the instability caused by the second Libyan Civil War. This mission has achieved some measure of success. AFRICOM, and by extension, the United States, has a de-facto neutrality policy regarding the second Libyan […]

When the British secret service trolled al-Qaeda with cupcakes

One might assume that an international intelligence apparatus like Britain’s MI6 would wreak havoc when hacking into a terrorist-affiliated website. The truth is they did little more than likely annoy al-Qaeda after hacking a recruiting website. The result wasn’t exactly devastating unless you’re someone who hates cupcakes. It’s hard to imagine even the most hardcore […]

AFRICOM: The battle for Central Africa

This article was written by Jesutimilehin Akamo and originally published on Grey Dynamics.  Key Judgements It is almost certain that most of central Africa is unstable. While Sao Tome and Principe has remained peaceful in the last decade, other countries in the region are either at the brink of conflict or have active conflicts. Oil, […]

Counterterrorism & counterinsurgency: US strategy in West Africa

This article was written by Ana Maria Baloi and originally published on Grey Dynamics.  This report examines the strategic concepts of AFRICOM as applied in West Africa, based on the U.S. interests in the region, military doctrine, and past experiences in other parts of the world. For collection and processing, the author used Open Source […]

Russian patrol in Syria ambushed by massive IED

A joint Russian-Turkish vehicle patrol in northwest Syria’s Idlib Province was hit with a massive improvised explosive device (IED) on Tuesday morning at 0850 hours local time. Three Russian troops and several Turks were injured in the blast. Both Russian and Turkish vehicles were damaged in the attack.  Although the Russians and Turks support opposing […]

Somali Army targets al-Shabaab terrorists in order to curtail violence

The Somali National Army moved into a stronghold of the terrorist group al-Shabaab in a large operation that killed two of the group’s fighters and resulted in the capture of dozens more, army officials said. One Somali soldier was killed in the fighting. According to the Somali National Army (SNA) commander of the 60th Division, […]

The Pic of the Day: Rocking the M320 grenade launcher

A soldier assigned to Task Force Guardian Site Security Platoon, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), runs through a training scenario at a firing range in Djibouti, June 24, 2020. Task Force Guardian infantrymen and junior snipers utilize their rotation’s final range day to hone their skills across three weapons systems to further enhance […]

Arizona college professor gets death threats for calling Jihad violent

In a bizarre twist of fate, Nicholas Damask, an Arizona college professor came under heat from his own school last month, had a lawsuit filed against him and his college, and then received death threats against himself and his family for teaching material that was thought by some as condemning Islam. The Arizona Council for […]

Islamic Jihadists ambush Malian Army convoy, heavy casualties

About a dozen military vehicles were ambushed on Sunday at Bouka Were, around 60 miles from the border with Mauritania, the army said. Unnamed Malian military sources confirmed that the ambush on the military convoy in central Mali left 24 soldiers dead and a number missing. Jihadists aligned with al-Qaeda perpetrated the attack.  According to […]

Boko Haram strikes again with multiple attacks in Nigeria, over 100 dead

Three separate attacks, including an assault on the military base of Monguno, killed dozens of people in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state. Boko Haram, which has allied itself with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), claimed responsibility for the attacks. The other two targets were a United Nations office and a refugee camp which hosts […]