ISWAP’s emergence as epicentre of the Islamic State’s jihadism


A new infographic released by ISIS’s Amaq Agency over the weekend paints a revealing picture of the group’s global operations during the first half of the year.

The data, drawn from across ISIS’s various wilayat (provinces), confirms a trend that has been developing over the past few years: the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has become the most active and lethal of all ISIS affiliates. With 215 reported attacks and 734 casualties inflicted, ISWAP’s attacks in Nigeria alone accounted for nearly 35 percent of all ISIS operations globally, and approximately 23 percent of all deaths and injuries attributed to ISIS during this period.

Read more…
Source: Vanguard News


Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • African Union, Somali Forces Recapture Strategic Towns From al-Shabab

    June 23, 2025

    The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), in coordination with the Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF), has recaptured the strategic towns of Sabiid and Anole from al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia, the AU mission announced on Sunday. AUSSOM said in a statement issued in the Somali capital of Mogadishu that the move followed ...

  • Nigeria: Female suicide bomber kills ten at food joint in Borno

    June 21, 2025

    At least ten people have been confirmed dead, with the number of injured yet to be ascertained, following a suicide bombing carried out by a female attacker in Konduga Local Government Area (LGA), located about 36 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The attack occurred around 10:00 p.m. on Friday, June 20, 2025, when the ...

  • Nigeria: NAF Airstrikes Destroy IED Factory, Terrorist Gun Trucks in Borno

    June 19, 2025

    NAF Airstrikes Destroy IED Factory, Terrorist Gun Trucks in Borno’s Tumbuktu Triangle The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), under Operation HADIN KAI, has launched a series of precision airstrikes that destroyed an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) factory and several terrorist gun trucks in Kwaltiri, a notorious hideout within the Tumbuktu Triangle in Borno State. The operation, carried ...

  • Nigeria: Army Foils Boko Haram Attack On Naval Base

    June 18, 2025

    Troops of Operation Hadin Kai in the early hours of Wednesday foiled an attempt by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists to attack the Naval Base at Lake Chad, Fish Dam, in Borno State. The terrorists launched the attack around 2 a.m. in what appeared to be targeted at destroying the newly ...

  • Niger targets jihadist financing, kills 13 in illegal gold mine raids

    June 16, 2025

    Niger’s army has raided jihadist-controlled informal mining sites in the country’s west, killing more than a dozen insurgents and seizing material linked to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, it said. An army statement said the raids took place last week in the Tagueye locality, near Niger’s western border with Burkina Faso. It said 13 insurgents ...

  • Nigeria: Over 100 feared dead in fresh Benue attack

    June 14, 2025

    No fewer than 100 people are feared dead following an attack by armed invaders on Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. The took place in the early hours of Saturday. Our correspondent reports that in a separate incident, two soldiers were killed in Daudu, another rural town in Guma LGA. The latest ...

  • Somali police arrest suspected Al-Shabaab bombmakers after Mogadishu house explosion

    June 5, 2025

    Somali police arrested several suspected Al-Shabaab members on Thursday after an explosion at a house in Mogadishu’s Dayniile district revealed an apparent bomb-making operation. According to police, the blast occurred as the men were assembling explosive devices inside a residence in the Barwaaqo neighbourhood. The materials reportedly detonated prematurely, injuring the suspects and alerting nearby residents. ...

  • Nigeria: New terrorist group, Mahmuda, attacks Kwara community

    June 4, 2025

    A terrorist group called Mahmuda has carried out an attack on Karonji/Duruma village in the Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State. Sources told SaharaReporters that the insurgents invaded the community on Tuesday evening, firing sporadically as residents fled into the forest for safety. At least four villagers have been killed in the latest attack. This ...

  • Uganda: Two people die before a suspected explosive attack in Kampala

    June 3, 2025

    Uganda military authorities said two people died before executing a suspected explosive attack near a Catholic shrine in the capital, Kampala. The military said in a statement Tuesday they “intercepted and neutralized two armed terrorists” in Munyonyo, a Kampala suburb. The deceased were a man and a woman on a passenger motorcycle. The female passenger appeared ...

  • Nigeria: At least 20 people killed in attacks on communities in Benue state

    June 3, 2025

    At least 20 people have been killed during simultaneous attacks by unidentified gunmen on several communities in Nigeria’s north-central Benue state, police said on Tuesday. The attacks occurred late Sunday in communities within the Gwer West and Apa areas, said Udeme Edet, spokesperson for the Benue police. reports suggest the death toll may exceed 30. Five ...

  • Mali army foils attempted infiltration in Timbuktu

    June 2, 2025

    The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) have announced that they successfully repelled an attempted infiltration targeting their military base in the northern city of Timbuktu. According to the General Staff of the FAMa, thirteen assailants were neutralised during a counter-offensive launched in response to the attack, which also led to the seizure of weapons and ammunition. Search ...

  • Somalia launches national forum to counter illegal arms and IED threats

    June 2, 2025

    Somalia’s federal government launched a two-day national conference in Mogadishu on Monday to address the growing threat of illicit arms, unregulated ammunition, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by insurgent groups. The event, led by Defence Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi and organized by the Office of the National Security Advisor, brought together senior officials from federal ...

  • Nigeria: Borno residents mourn 8 volunteers Killed in an IED blast

    May 31, 2025

    Borno State is in mourning over the tragic death of eight Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast on Tuesday along the Dikwa-Marte road. CJTF is a security volunteer outfit supporting the Nigerian Army in the fight against insurgency in the North-east region. The brave volunteers were trying to ...

  • Mozambique: Jihadist attacks hit northern provinces as Total readies to resume gas project

    May 29, 2025

    A series of attacks in northern Mozambique this month point to a resurgence of violence by Islamic State-linked militants as energy giant TotalEnergies prepares to resume a major gas project, analysts say. The group terrorised northern Mozambique for years before brazenly vowing in 2020 to turn the northern gas-rich Cabo Delgado province into a caliphate. TotalEnergies ...

  • UNMAS South Sudan welcomes support from the Government of Japan

    May 28, 2025

    The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) recently welcomed a contribution from the Government of Japan to support the National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) of South Sudan in strengthening its capacity to coordinate and oversee the mine action sector. South Sudan faces severe challenges from explosive ordnance contamination, endangering civilian lives and delaying humanitarian assistance. This ...

  • Nigeria: IGP commissions 50 operational vehicles for EOD-CBRN unit

    May 28, 2025

    The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM., today, May 27th 2025, commissioned 50 state-of-the-art operational vehicles for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, a feat which underscores the IGP’s commitment to prioritising the safety and security of the nation. These customised vehicles ...

  • Nigeria: ISWAP evacuates 15 bodies, abandons VBIED after failed attack in Borno

    May 27, 2025

    Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, fighters have hastily evacuated at least 15 dead bodies of their comrades after a failed midnight assault on New Marte in Borno State. According to a report, the insurgents arrived on motorcycles and with a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), apparently aimed at breaching the battalion’s defences. However, the terrorists ...

  • Nigeria: IED explosion at Abuja Barracks kills carrier, injures two others

    May 27, 2025

    Attempts by yet-to-be-identified person to carry improvised explosive devices, IED, into Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory and cause havoc, yesterday, failed as vigilant military police and intelligence personnel prevented the carrier from entering the facility. Consequently, the IED exploded as the military personnel who were suspicious of the load the carrier was carrying directed him ...

  • Nigeria: Police destroy bomb factory, defuse IEDs in Anambra

    May 25, 2025

    The Anambra State Police Command has destroyed a local bomb factory and demobilised assorted improvised explosive devices after it raided a secessionist hideout in Isseke, Ihiala Local Government Area of the state. A statement released on Sunday by the Command’s Spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the hideout is one of the last strongholds of the secessionist group ...

  • Nigeria: 13 Terrorists Logistics Suppliers Arrested with IED Materials in Borno, Yobe

    May 24, 2025

    13 Terrorists Logistics Suppliers Arrested with IED Materials in Borno, Yobe – DHQ The Armed Forces of Nigeria has arrested 13 suspected logistics suppliers for terrorists in a major breakthrough aimed at dismantling the operational backbone of insurgent groups in the North-East. A statement released today by Major General Markus Kangye, Director of Defence Media Operations, ...

  • The shadow constellation: How Starlink devices are shaping conflict and crime in the Sahel

    May 20, 2025

    Violent extremist groups in the Sahel, including Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), are exploiting Starlink to enhance their operational capabilities. Criminal actors are not only trafficking Starlink devices but using them to evade law enforcement and sustain illicit economies. Their ability to do so is underpinned by an ...

  • Somalia: At least 13 reported killed in suicide bomb blast in Mogadishu

    May 18, 2025

    Several people have been reported killed in a suicide bombing at an army recruitment centre in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The attacker on Sunday targeted a queue of young recruits lining up outside the Damanyo base, killing at least 13 people, the Associated Press news agency quoted witnesses as saying. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Teenagers ...