ISIS and al-Qaeda are at War in the Sahel
Simon Whistler · September 23, 2026 · 16 min video · Global
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What this episode covers
The Sahel's two jihadist rivals once fought side by side. Six years of fratricide — more than 320 clashes and 2,200 fighters dead — have since shattered that truce, and the region's juntas are too weak to profit from it.
From the transcript
In early September this year, the Islamic State to Hell province, or ISSP, announced that it had won a major victory against one of its major rivals, Janim, an al- Qaeda-affiliated group that is active in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
According to the announcement, which was made in the Islamic State's global newsletter, Al-Nabar, the ISSP inflicted heavy losses on Janim during a battle in Kacham in the northern edges of Burkina Faso. They claimed to have killed more than 200 Janim fighters, wounded dozens, and captured vast quantities of weapons and motorcycles.
The ISSP also captured and subsequently executed more than 30 Janim fighters, including two Janim commanders. Now, we obviously have to take these numbers with a grain of salt, because they were reported by, yes, being the Islamic State's newsletter, however, if they are true, then that would make this the deadliest confrontation yet between the two groups.
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
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