The Most Dangerous and Fierce Terrorist Organizations in the World

A UN report, issued by the United Nations in February, linked insecurity in various parts of Africa to the expansion of terrorist organizations, particularly in the Sahel and West Africa regions. The report noted that insecurity is closely tied to the increasing influence of the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” (GSIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and the “Islamic State in the Greater Sahara” (ISGS), affiliated with ISIS.

The “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” is considered one of the most dangerous and fierce terrorist organizations in the world, not only because of the diversity of its bloody attacks against both military personnel and civilians but also due to its wide geographical spread in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, especially in the border area between these countries. The group also attempts to solidify its presence in these regions by establishing its own courts under the pretext of implementing Islamic Sharia law, aiming to impose its dominance over local populations. Additionally, the group imposes taxes on locals, controls trade and smuggling routes, and levies tolls on traders and smugglers, making it one of the wealthiest terrorist organizations in the region and the world, enabling it to finance its members and activities very effectively.

The “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” is one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations, not only because of the diversity of its bloody attacks but also due to its wide geographical spread.

The UN report, according to the newspaper “Asharq Al-Awsat,” included analyses by United Nations experts, based on data from African member states affected by terrorism. It also contained comprehensive information about the two terrorist organizations, the groups associated with them, the identities of their leaders, their funding sources, and the networks that connect them.

The Political Islam Studies Department at the TRENDS Research and Advisory Center stated that this raises important questions about the reasons behind the continued security threats posed by the group in the Sahel region of Africa, and the escalation of these risks in recent times, despite regional and international efforts to eradicate them.

The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, established in early March 2017, is considered an unconventional terrorist organization, not only because of its military strength and the density of its fighters compared to other terrorist groups in the Sahel and Sahara region but also because it is a mixture of several ethnically diverse terrorist groups united by allegiance to Al-Qaeda. These groups include “Ansar Dine,” “Al-Mourabitoun Brigade,” the “Emirate of the Sahara,” and “Katifas of Masina,” which has helped it spread across multiple areas, though its organizational strength is primarily concentrated in northern Mali.

Despite the group’s ideological, tribal, and ethnic diversity, it has ensured that Al-Qaeda’s intellectual umbrella remains the unifying banner. Although Al-Qaeda’s ideology is centered on the principle of prioritizing the fight against distant enemies, mainly Jews and Christians, with the United States at the forefront, the group has not hesitated to adopt the principle of prioritizing the fight against local enemies, represented by the armies of the region, based on organizational interests and the situation on the ground. This may explain the group’s almost continuous attacks on the armies of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, whether through traditional attacks or suicide operations.

The group represents the largest Al-Qaeda-affiliated organizational alliance in the world, which has turned it into a transnational organization due to its activities in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania. In these countries, the group has established control over some areas—organizational control rather than territorial or spatial control—and has created something akin to small jihadist emirates, though without explicitly declaring them, to avoid the mistakes made by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. These developments have begun to concern some international powers involved in counter-terrorism efforts in this region, like France. In early March 2019, French Defense Minister Florence Parly stated that the Malian government must “regain control of some of its territories used by the group as a launch point to expand into neighboring countries,” according to the Future Center for Advanced Research and Studies website.

The group has also recently exploited the chaos in the region and the aftermath of the military coup in Niger to consolidate its dominance in its areas of influence, hoping to replicate the scenario of complete control over cities and establish a model of religious rule, similar to the period before France’s military intervention nearly a decade ago.

A Growing Threat

The TRENDS Center believes that the threat posed by the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” is escalating. Since the group’s formation in March 2017, it quickly carried out several terrorist attacks to assert its presence. It began by attacking a group of Malian soldiers in March 2017, resulting in 11 deaths and 5 injuries. In April 2017, the group killed a French soldier and, in the same month, engaged in a battle with the Malian army that left around 16 dead and 4 captured from the group. In July of the same year, the group claimed responsibility for an attack in Bamako that killed 8 people, including 4 civilians.

Despite the group’s ideological, tribal, and ethnic diversity, it has ensured that Al-Qaeda’s intellectual umbrella remains the unifying banner.

In August 2020, group members attacked a gendarmerie force in the town of Sandaré, located only 80 kilometers from Mauritania and 200 kilometers from Senegal. What is noteworthy about this operation is that the group had not previously carried out such attacks in this specific area, making it seem like a display of power to assert its presence and claim exclusive control over the borders with Mauritania and Senegal, distinguishing it from other armed groups, especially ISIS.

The group even went so far as to besiege some cities, such as its blockade of the historic city of Timbuktu in Mali during August 2023, closing all entry and exit routes to and from the city on the edge of the desert. This led to skyrocketing prices for all foodstuffs and fuel in the city. The leader of the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” had released a video before the siege, declaring war on Timbuktu.

Targeting Foreign Forces

According to the France24 website in April, the group’s activities are not limited to targeting government forces but also extend to foreign forces. For example, in April 2024, the group announced the capture of a member of the Russian Wagner Group fighting in the Djebaly area in the Segou region of central Mali.

The rising security threats posed by the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” are increasingly alarming at both the regional and international levels, given the diversity of the group’s attacks, their expanding scope, and their threat to the interests of major powers and their citizens, especially with the group’s continued kidnapping of foreigners. This likely prompted the United States, in April 2024, to announce through its Secretary of State Antony Blinken that his department had designated seven leaders of the so-called “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” and the “Al-Mourabitoun Brigade” for their involvement in the hostage-taking of American citizens in West Africa. In a statement by the State Department, as reported by Al-Hurra, it was mentioned that “the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims is the largest and deadliest branch of Al-Qaeda in West Africa and the Sahel, having claimed responsibility for numerous kidnappings and attacks since its establishment in 2017.”

A Dark Future

The TRENDS Center predicts that the group’s threats will continue to escalate in the coming period, further complicating the security situation in the Sahel region, which does not seem likely to stabilize in the near future, given the ongoing developments in the region.

This prediction is supported by a combination of factors that have contributed to the expansion of the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” and the escalation of its security threats. Some of these factors relate to the political and security conditions in the region, while others are connected to the group’s tribal and ethnic alliances, as well as its strong organizational cohesion and access to substantial funding sources.

Added to these factors is the group’s ability to expand its recruitment and mobilization efforts, providing it with the material and human resources needed to continue and expand its terrorist activities. This not only makes it more challenging to combat terrorism and eradicate the group or at least reduce and contain its threats, especially given the group’s desire to lead the terrorism scene in the region.