Ansarul Islam is a militant Islamist group active in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

and in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. It was founded by Boureima Dicko, also known as Ibrahim Malam Dicko, and it is the first native Jihadi group in Burkina Faso. The group cooperates closely with

Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin Nusrat al-Islam, officially known as Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin' (, JNIM; , GSIM English language, English: ''Support Group for Islam and Muslims'') is a militant Jihadism, jihadist organisation in the Maghreb and West Africa formed b ...

(JNIM).

History

The group announced its existence in December 2016 in a statement claiming responsibility for an attack in Nassoumbou. It was founded and led by Ibrahim Malam Dicko until his death in May 2017 from natural causes. The group has claimed responsibility for several attacks. These include the attack on two police stations in Tongomayel and Baraboulé in February 2017 and the attack at a village in Soum in March 2017. On 30 October 2020, about fifty jihadists on motorcycles belonging to the Ansar ul Islam group were killed by the French Army in Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso. Weapons and equipment were also seized.

References

{{Militant Islamism in Sub-Saharan Africa Al-Qaeda allied groups Islamism in Africa Organizations based in Africa designated as terrorist Organisations designated as terrorist by Pakistan Rebel groups in Mali Rebel groups in Burkina Faso Islamist groups Jihadist groups Military units and factions of the Mali War

History

See also

References