Islamic State

ADF STAFF With thousands of adherents spread across the Sahel and Somalia, al-Qaida and the Islamic State group (IS) have reached an unprecedented threat level in Africa even as they appear to be in steep decline in the Middle East.…

ADF STAFF Mozambique’s armed forces (FADM) are taking a more prominent role in counterterrorism operations, as troops from the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) have begun to draw down. The insurgency in…

ADF STAFF Counterinsurgency efforts in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province have gained momentum since international forces killed the leader of the Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama’a (ASWJ) extremist group in August. Some experts now say that…

ADF STAFF Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023 emerged as the region with the highest number of terrorist attacks worldwide, a new report finds. The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ (IISS) Armed Conflict Survey 2023 tracked the…

ADF STAFF In the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the word “Wazalendo” has become nearly as ubiquitous as the sight of armed men in fatigues. They are local militiamen who have partnered with the Congolese…

ADF STAFF The spread of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) across Africa has many security experts concerned that it is only a matter of time before terrorists begin using armed drones to attack military and civilian targets. “The massive…

ADF STAFF Mariam sat in a debriefing session with a Congolese military intelligence official and described how a Ugandan rebel had claimed her as his wife and taken her to a camp in the forest. She felt safe enough in the military base in…

ADF STAFF Uganda claimed a significant victory over the Islamic State group (IS) in November when it captured a senior commander known as “Njovu” during a raid in which six members of his group were killed. The fighters belonged to the…

ADF STAFF An extremist organization linked to the Islamic State group used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in six attacks on military patrols in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province over a three-week period ending Oct. 1. The attacks…

ADF STAFF For years, Mali’s government and army have had virtually no presence in the strategic northern town of Kidal. Since he came to power in a 2020 coup, however, Col. Assimi Goïta has made clear his desire to retake the Tuareg rebel…