Topic: Al Qaeda in the Maghreb

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3 questions US forces must answer before declaring victory in Libya

Even as fighting in Libya continues, Pentagon officials and US commanders overseeing operations on the ground are wrestling with tough questions about the future of the campaign – and what military forces still need to do before they can consider it a victory.

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Africa Monitor
How Islamists are gaining sway in Mali

Many famous Islamist groups built support by providing health care and food, filling gaps left by the state, writes a guest blogger. Islamist groups now have the greatest sway in Timbuktu and Gao.
Backchannels
Did Libya's revolution topple Mali into crisis?

Maybe, but the Tuaregs have longed for independence for decades, and Mali's security has been declining for years.
US must seek conservative Muslims as allies in fight against Boko Haram terror

Boko Haram, the north Nigerian extremist group, has recently escalated its terror campaign with a string of deadly strikes against government and civilian targets. To combat the rising threat, the West must embrace conservative Muslims in the region as potential allies.
Libya to Europe: Remember us?

Former Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril traveled to Brussels to warn European leaders about the dangers of abandoning their work in Libya before the country is stabilized.
In Nigeria, Somalia, and Afghanistan: what is a foreign fighter?

In countries where colonial borders don't reflect ethnic or family ties, it's not as easy to decide who is a foreigner. Yet Nigeria has deported 11,000 foreigners in the past six months on suspicion of Islamist sympathies.
Did Qaddafi downfall prompt Mali's Tuareg revolt?

Mali's military has been training to take on Al Qaeda insurgents, but the latest revolt by Mali's nomadic Tuareg people seems inspired by an influx of former Qaddafi fighters and arms.
With oil pipeline attack, Niger Delta rebels announce return

After a year long truce, Niger Delta rebel group MEND launched an attack on an oil pipeline. MEND's attacks come as Nigeria's military is struggling with the Islamist Boko Haram movement in the north.
Can you hear me now? Nigeria arrests Boko Haram spokesman.

Nigerian security sources say they traced the Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qa Qa by tracing his cellphone calls, a tactic also used to track down Osama Bin Laden.
Nigeria's Boko Haram attacks are misunderstood as regional Islamist threat

Concern is growing that the Boko Haram militant group in Nigeria is linked to Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab as part of a coordinated Islamist terrorist threat in Africa. But most often, the reasons for the group's attacks are local.
Global News Blog
World reacts to Obama's new military focus on Asia

Chinese newspapers call on China to assert itself, while India and African nations ponder the implications of becoming 'strategic partners' with the US. 
Nigeria dispatches troops to north to stop Boko Haram attacks

The Christmas Day attack on a church is only the latest in string of attacks by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, who has given Christians living in the north three days to leave the region.
Mali arrests kidnap suspects, Al Qaeda releases pictures of victims

While Al Qaeda is showing signs of waning in southern and western Asia, Al Qaeda-related groups continue to make their presence felt across the African Sahel region.
Backchannels
Is kidnapping older, unarmed civilians all that's left for Al Qaeda?

Ayman Zawahiri, the current Al Qaeda boss, released a recorded speech claiming credit for the kidnapping of veteran US aid worker Warren Weinstein.
Africa Monitor
Sahel Blog: European police deploy to the Sahel

Guest blogger Alex Thurston says that in the wake of 9 recent kidnappings, Europe is increasing its police and security presence in Africa's Sahel region affected by Al Qaeda's local affiliate.
Is Nigeria's Boko Haram group really tied to Al Qaeda?

A string of increasingly brutal attacks – along with reports that Boko Haram may soon hit Nigeria's predominately Christian South – is bringing fresh scrutiny of the Islamist group.
3 questions US forces must answer before declaring victory in Libya

Even as fighting in Libya continues, Pentagon officials and US commanders overseeing operations on the ground are wrestling with tough questions about the future of the campaign – and what military forces still need to do before they can consider it a victory.
Guns, migrants, mercenaries: Qaddafi's loss is the Sahel's gain

Aside from Qaddafi and his family, up to one million migrants from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso may leave war-torn Libya, and arms from Qaddafi's arsenal are already showing up in conflict zones as far away as Somalia.
The deadly dilemma of Libya's missing weapons

Human Rights Watch discovered several weapons-storage sites in Libya where surface-to-air missiles are missing, raising concerns that the weapons could arm an Iraq-style insurgency.
How NATO could find itself protecting Qaddafi loyalists in Libya

NATO's mandate in Libya is to protect civilians, and with rebels now promising to attack cities loyal to Qaddafi, the alliance could be called on to protect civilians there. It is one complication that has NATO pressing for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
Global News Blog
Good Reads: Libyan rebels' push on Sirte, Nigeria's Boko Haram, Clooney's satellites

Today's stories feature a look at the Libyan rebels' final push on Qaddafi's hometown, Nigeria's Boko Haram, and how George Clooney's satellite project may affect Sudan.
Africa Monitor
Mali's two-pronged approach to combating Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Mali is a regional outlier for trying to combat Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb with not just force, but also an initiative to address societal problems seen as fostering extremism.
Africa Monitor
Hostage video: Europeans kidnapped in Nigeria blame Al Qaeda

In a video of two European engineers who were kidnapped in Nigeria, the hostages say their kidnappers are from Al Qaeda, but their home governments have doubts.
Africa Monitor
Islamist militants clash with Mauritanian forces

Two fights between the Mauritanian military and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb raises questions about the military's role fighting terror, an escalation of hostilities, and weapons sources.
Africa Monitor
West Africa Rising: Libya war boosting Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb?

Despite US training and support, West African nations have been unable to stamp out the terrorist group and the upheaval in Libya may be bolstering the group's arsenal.
The future of Al Qaeda and its likely leader

Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's chief strategist, is poised to take command of a group that has been in decline for years.