The United States is weighing the option of launching airstrikes against terrorists linked to al Qaeda in Mali, as suggested by regional experts and recent media insights.
Since a series of coups in 2020 and 2021, a military junta has taken control of Mali, a nation in the Sahel region of West Africa. Seeking new alliances, the junta distanced itself from Western nations like France and the U.S., opting instead for military backing from Russia and its Africa Corps mercenaries in their battle against jihadist factions.
Among these insurgent groups, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) stands out as a significant threat, currently laying siege to Mali’s capital. The group, in collaboration with another faction, has been implicated in the deaths of 50 Malian soldiers this month alone and the killing of the country’s defense minister earlier this year. Notably, they have forced Russian battalions to withdraw on at least two separate occasions this year.
Malian troops showcased their military might during the 65th anniversary celebrations of the nation’s independence. (Photo credit: Habib Kouyate/Xinhua via Getty Images)
JNIM harbors ambitions of transforming Mali into an Islamist Jihadist state, which, if realized, would mark it as the first nation in the world under jihadist regime control. The group was officially labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2018 during the initial Trump administration.
Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist groups are also operating freely in Mali, and are linked to terror groups in neighboring Nigeria.
A State Department official didn’t respond to a Washington Post report that the U.S. is considering strikes against JNIM in Mali, but used strong language Thursday when talking to News Media, leading analysts to suggest the time for talking may be over.
“The United States unequivocally condemns the terrorist activity in Mali,” the official said, adding, “in the Sahel, the United States is committed to promoting regional ownership and cooperation against terrorist threats, and monitoring indicators and warnings of threats to our homeland.”
This undated photograph handed out by the French military shows three Russian mercenaries, right, in northern Mali. Russia has engaged in under-the-radar military operations in at least half a dozen countries in Africa in the last five years using a shadowy mercenary force analysts say is loyal to President Vladimir Putin. The analysts say the Wagner Group of mercenaries is also key to Putin’s ambitions to re-impose Russian influence on a global scale. (French Army via AP)
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British and United Nations diplomat, said the U.S. could order military action, to primarily try and stop jihadists becoming entrenched in Mali. Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told News Media, “Mali is mainly important to the U.S. because, as a failed state becoming a safe haven for al Qaeda and ISIS, it looks like the first of several African dominoes likely to fall.”
Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth P. Ekman, who until last year, served as the Department of War’s West Africa Coordination Element lead, said that with strike action the administration may be able to persuade Mali’s rulers to turn away from Russia, and towards the U.S. for protection – and purchases of military equipment.
A column of black smoke rises above buildings as traffic passes the Africa Tower monument in Bamako on April 26, 2026. April 25, 2026’s shock attacks, synchronized by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), targeted several areas in the vast arid country. Fighting resumed on April 26 in several areas, including Kita near Bamako, Kidal, Gao and Severe.Tuareg rebels meanwhile announced an agreement allowing Russian forces backing Mali’s army to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal, which they claimed was “totally” under their control. (AFP via Getty Images)
Ekman told News Media, “JNIM has a stranglehold on the government and much of the population. The Russians are woefully ineffective and extractive. Cooperation with U.S. forces offers a disproportionate and positive impact.”
Ekman said that U.S. forces have supported partner-led operations against JNIM before, as recently as 2022, adding “recent proposals amount to returning to similar cooperation against a mutual threat.”
The administration may also be in a minerals frame of mind. Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold-producing nations. It also has substantial deposits of lithium, used extensively in rechargeable batteries.
Fitton-Brown said that “President Trump may be less reluctant than his predecessor to work with the juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, if they are losing faith in their Russian friends.”
A vehicle turned up following a brutal ambush on Russian Wagner fighters in Mali on July 27, 2024. (East2West)
He continued, “The U.S. is certainly a more capable partner. France has already been displaced, so all three countries might accept U.S. help if it comes only with strings attached that don’t offend or disadvantage them. Whether even the U.S. is capable of stopping the political decline of these countries, and the rise of militant Islam, is another matter. That cannot be achieved by military force alone.”
The FDD’s Fitton-Brown said U.S. assets such as aircraft may not be directly involved if there is a strike, “The U.S. might work with French and other intelligence services to develop local intelligence for strikes on JNIM leadership, but this is unlikely to achieve much. The organization is resilient and will be able to replace those killed.”
A former senior Department of War official told News Media the U.S. has at its disposal cruise missiles and long-range bombers. Attack drones would probably not come into play, and the U.S. Naval Institute’s Fleet Tracker shows no American aircraft carriers anywhere near African waters, effectively ruling out carrier operations.
However, Ekman believes airstrikes are under consideration, noting “JNIM and ISIS are a threat to U.S. interests, and are ascendant in West Africa.”