Al-Qaeda linked JNIM says one killed in its first Nigeria attack

The first known attack in the Sahel by an armed group affiliated with al-Qaeda has resulted in the death of a soldier this week in central Nigeria.

A soldier was killed and ammunition and cash were taken from the attack in Nigeria’s Kwara State on Wednesday, according to a video posted on Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in a post-mortem on its Telegram channel late on Thursday.

One soldier was killed when JNIM attacked soldiers on patrol, according to a source from the Nigerian military. However, an official request for comment was ignored by the army.

One of the numerous armed organizations operating in West Africa and the Sahel is JNIM. It had previously stated that it wanted to abolish Western-influenced governments while creating an Islamic caliphate.

The group’s activities initially began in Mali before going on to Burkinabe and some of Niger. Additionally, JNIM has launched attacks in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Togo’s northernmost regions.

JNIM imposed a ban on fuel imports from neighboring nations recently in Mali. This has caused damage to some areas of the nation and forced the closure of universities and schools.

The group attacked the town of Barsalogho last year, killing 200 civilians, and launched a major attack in Djibo in Burkinabe in May, killing about 200 soldiers.

The apparent group’s entry into Nigeria comes as Boko Haram and Issuzu are engaged in a separate rebellion.

In the north of the nation, more than two million people have been killed and more than two million have been internally displaced as a result of years of fighting.

President Bola Tinubu announced the appointment of new service chiefs last week, claiming that this would significantly improve the country’s military leadership.

Without giving names, Tinubu addressed the new military leaders on Thursday, expressing his concern for the recent emergence of new armed groups in parts of southern Nigeria, including the north-central region.