JNIM grows and assaults Bamako

Details & Photos

On 17 September, fighters of the qaedist affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen (JNIM) attacked an elite Malian police training academy and the nearby airport in the capital Bamako.

The attack was of huge proportions and had great prominence in jihadist circles (even far from al-Qaeda) and the propaganda material disseminated by JNIM (photos, videos, statements) were widely circulated.

There were more than 70 dead and wounded in the attack¹ between the Malian army, the Malian gendarmerie and the Russian Wagner mercenaries.

According to information released by JNIM, the clashes continued for about eight hours in the Malian capital, Bamako, until one o’clock in the afternoon, when the fighters of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims managed to take control of the entire Modibo Keita military airport, and inflicted heavy losses on the Malian army and the Wagner mercenaries, seizing a large amount of military equipment and also managing to destroy many military aircraft and vehicles.

Az-Zallaqa, the media wing of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), published several photos, one of which depicts two Inghamsi fighters: Salman Al-Bambari and Abdel Salam al-Fulani, who with their group stormed the military academy.

Later Az-Zalaqa also published exclusive photos documenting the attack on the Modibo Kaita military airport. Below is all the published material:

Az-Zallaqa Media, in the following days published a considerable amount of material to discuss and show the results of the large scale attack by Inghimasi conducted in Bamako earlier last week.

An infographic summarizing the harvest of the operation and a eulogy by JNIM deputy leader Muhammad Kouffa have been published.

Daniele Garofalo is a researcher and analyst on Jihadist Terrorism, Islamist Insurgents and Armed Groups. He is an expert in Monitoring Jihadist Media Channels and Islamist rebels and Armed Groups.

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1. According to al-Jazeera, a security source, who wished to remain anonymous, told the AFP news agency that 77 people died and 255 others were injured in the attack.