Document #2088080
USDOS – US Department of State (Author)
Aka ISIS-GS; Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS); Islamic State of the Greater Sahel; ISIS in the Greater Sahel; ISIS in the Islamic Sahel
Description: ISIS in the Greater Sahara (ISIS-GS) was designated as an FTO on May 23, 2018. ISIS-GS emerged when leader Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi and his followers split from al-Murabitoun. Al-Sahrawi first pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2015, which was acknowledged by ISIS in 2016.
Activities: In 2017, ISIS-GS claimed responsibility for an attack on a joint U.S.-Nigerien patrol in the region of Tongo Tongo, Niger, which killed four U.S. soldiers and five Nigerien soldiers. In 2018, ISIS-GS was reportedly involved in numerous skirmishes and attacks in Mali and Niger, including ones that targeted French troops and civilians. In 2019, ISIS-GS attacked a Malian military base, killing 54 soldiers.
In 2020, ISIS-GS militants attacked a Nigerien military base on the border between Niger and Mali, killing 89 soldiers, and were suspected of killing 6 French NGO workers, their Nigerien guide, and 1 other Nigerien citizen near Niamey, Niger.
In 2021, French forces killed the leader of ISIS-GS, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, in a strike in southern Mali. Also in 2021, ISIS-GS claimed to have kidnapped and killed five Christian civilians at a roadblock between Gao and Niamey, Niger.
Strength: Precise numbers are unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger
Funding and External Aid: Sources of funding are unknown.
Country Report on Terrorism 2021 - Chapter 1 - Mali (Periodical Report, English)
Country Report on Terrorism 2021 - Chapter 1 - Niger (Periodical Report, English)