Jihadists are intensifying drone attacks in the Sahel
The institute has recorded more than 30 confirmed drone attacks since September 2023, of which 82% (24 attacks) were concentrated between March and June 2025. These included the assault on the Malian military base in Boulikessi on June 1, when JNIM used drones to drop explosives and claimed to have killed more than 100 Malian soldiers.
These devices, which had previously been limited to surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, have evolved into weapons capable of carrying out direct strikes. In September 2023, the report stated, JNIM conducted its first armed drone attack, "dropping two [improvised explosive devices] on Dan Na Ambassagou [a Dogon militia fighting jihadist groups] positions in Bandiagara," in the Mopti region in central Mali.
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Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
Ateş' warnings against 'Islamisation' dangerous, German imams says
Since demonstrations in Berlin and Düsseldorf turned violent when supporters of Syria's new government clashed with pro-Kurdish demonstrators, discussions surrounding radical Islamism in Germany have been on the rise. At the protests last weekend, people celebrated the wave of attacks on Syria's Druze minority by Bedouin militias, which left hundreds dead, a wave of sectarian violence that threatened to derail post-war Syria's hopes of renewed stability. Around 400 people took part in the protests in Berlin, while 500 participants took to the streets in Düsseldorf, where the rally ended in violence and police officers were injured. The German-Turkish Imam Seyran Ateş criticised the demonstrations in comments to Euronews and issued an urgent warning against radicalism on the streets of Germany. "They were sent to Europe to cause unrest here, to recruit people for their ideology and to work on the grand idea of Islamising Europe," she claimed. Counterpoints by other imams So is Germany really being Islamised by extremists as Ateş claimed? Some of the country's other imams are now speaking out to Euronews, putting forward diverging opinions. Benjamin Idriz, an imam in Penzberg, countered: "I disagree with the insinuation that 'Islam' or 'the Muslims' want to threaten Europe." Anyone who uses the term Islamisation is "stirring up Islamophobia," he emphasised. "I consider Ms Ateş' statements, according to which young Syrians are allegedly being sent here to Islamise Europe, to be dangerous and simply irresponsible;" Idriz told Euronews. Idriz accuses her of adding "fuel to the fire". There are "of course individuals, with or without a migration background, who misuse religious terms" to incite hatred against people of other faiths. "There is no justification for this," he stated. "But identifying such people with a religion or an entire faith is as wrong as it is dangerous," Idriz said. According to Idriz, Islamisation is a "politically charged fighting term" stemming from "right-wing populist contexts" and suggests a "targeted infiltration of Europe by Islam". This is a narrative that is "close to conspiracy ideologies" and anyone using it is fuelling Islamophobia, he said. No connection with Islam, Berlin imam says Berlin imam Sharjil Khalid was also outraged. "The main function of these self-proclaimed Islam experts seems to be to make simplified general judgements," he told Euronews. This can be seen in the "decontextualised use" of Islamisation. The term is "increasingly being used in a populist way ... without regard for context or differentiation. This was also the case with the protests in Berlin and Düsseldorf." Khalid sees an ethnic conflict rather than one with Islam at its core. "Why is Ms Ateş suddenly linking these demonstrations, which were clearly about an ethnic conflict between Druze and Syrians, to Islam?" "We know that many people who read about Islam are hardly religiously educated. This was also the case with extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda or (the self-described) Islamic State (group)." "Reports have shown that many members had hardly any Islamic knowledge, and a large number were even illiterate. Despite this, a direct connection to Islam is repeatedly made across the board," he said. "What we are seeing in these riots is not an expression of Islam," emphasises Khalid, but "the result of profound ethnic and geopolitical problems". Any incitement to violence should be firmly rejected. "As an imam and Islamic theologian, I would like to remind you of a central tradition of the Holy Prophet Muhammad: 'A Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand people are safe.'" Outrage from Austria Ateş's warnings have made waves beyond Germany's borders. "With all due respect to the professional successes achieved by native German-Turks, but fear-mongering conspiracy theories such as 'The Islamists were sent to Islamise Europe' are less useful here," Austrian-Turkish political analyst Ercan Karaduman told Euronews. Karaduman has already appeared with Ateş on the "Talk im Hanger-7" show to discuss the subject. "I can't understand why people who think differently are subjected to death threats. Muslims shouldn't be allowed to do that either," he said, speaking about the death threats against Ateş. It can be observed how the "Taliban in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda with 9/11, Daesh terror in Syria, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Iran and its offshoots in Lebanon are forming generalised opinions about all Muslims and Islam in European societies," he said. Daesh is another term used for the so-called IS group by Arabic speakers to disempower it. Karaduman finds this unjustified. "This even creates blanket judgements about Muslims who have lived in NRW for generations and are even more German than the Germans," he explained. With regard to the radical protests in Berlin and Düsseldorf, he believes it would do no good to see "Islam as the source of the problem". "We need to focus on professional extremism prevention," says the Austrian political analyst with Turkish roots. Who is the 'liberal' imam Seyran Ateş? Ateş founded the first and so far only liberal mosque in Germany in 2017, where women and men have equal rights and Muslims of all sexual orientations can practise their religion openly. The feminist and lawyer was brought up in a conservative family and is fighting to reform Islam. The Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque, which she founded in 2017, had to close temporarily last year due to an Islamist attack plot. Ateş has been under police protection for almost 18 years, but continues to campaign for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights. Many in the Muslim world see this as a provocation. Egyptian religious leaders have issued a fatwa — a religious ruling — declaring prayers in her mosque "not valid". The price for her fight to establish a centre for liberal Islam has come in the shape of death threats, police protection and further pressure on her wellbeing. Ateş has already withdrawn from public life several times.
LeMonde
4 days ago
- LeMonde
Jihadists are intensifying drone attacks in the Sahel
In the Sahel, drone warfare has reached unprecedented levels. On July 14, the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan research institute, published a report that sheds light on the growing intensity of attacks with these devices that are being carried out by armed groups in the region − particularly by Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM), Al-Qaeda's Sahelian affiliate. The institute has recorded more than 30 confirmed drone attacks since September 2023, of which 82% (24 attacks) were concentrated between March and June 2025. These included the assault on the Malian military base in Boulikessi on June 1, when JNIM used drones to drop explosives and claimed to have killed more than 100 Malian soldiers. These devices, which had previously been limited to surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, have evolved into weapons capable of carrying out direct strikes. In September 2023, the report stated, JNIM conducted its first armed drone attack, "dropping two [improvised explosive devices] on Dan Na Ambassagou [a Dogon militia fighting jihadist groups] positions in Bandiagara," in the Mopti region in central Mali.
AFP
4 days ago
- AFP
Anti-dog flyer resurfaces online, attracts hateful rhetoric toward Canadian Muslims
"Residents of Vancouver, Canada, have spotted several signs around the city asking people to keep their dogs away, as dogs are considered filthy and 'haram' in Islam," reads the caption of a July 13, 2025 X photo. "Canadians, expected to give UP all you are to become what they fled from." The attached image shows a leaflet asking people to "be courteous to your Muslim neighbours" by keeping dogs on a leash and away from people practicing Islam supposedly due to religious convictions about the animals. Claims about the picture also appeared in online articles and on TikTok and Facebook where it was widely viewed in a post by American conservative commentator David J Harris Jr, who has previously spread misinformation. Comments on some of the posts disparagingly implied owners could bring their dogs wherever they liked and that Muslims needed to assimilate to Canada. Image Screenshot of an X post taken July 22, 2025 Other recent posts shared the image but claimed the flyer was seen in the United Kingdom. AFP previously fact-checked claims in Canada misrepresenting Muslims' beliefs and actions. As the country's once long-standing immigration consensus has broken down, misleading claims frequently circulate on newcomers in general. The recent posts about supposed anti-dog posters are similarly missing context. A reverse image search reveals images of the flyers have been online since 2017. , local media reported on the appearance of the signs at an off-leash park in the town of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, outside of Vancouver. No one ever came forward to claim responsibility for the action, but the City of Pitt Meadows and the non-profit Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which were advertised as alleged sponsors of the campaign on the flyer both stated they do not endorse the leaflets' message. The image frequently reappears online and, in an August 2024 statement (archived here), said whoever created the sign was not authorized to use the city's logo and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been aware of the incident since 2017. "Pitt Meadows is a welcoming multi-cultural community and this post does not represent the City or its community members," the statement says. "Like other municipalities, the City of Pitt Meadows has a bylaw that asks dog owners to keep their pets on a leash, except in designated off-leash areas," it adds. The city also noted no physical signs have been found in Pitt Meadows since 2017. AFP reached out to CAIR for comment about the posters and did not receive a response but the non-profit previously told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation it did not participate in any sort of flyer campaign, while noting CAIR also speculated France24 reported on the resurgence of the Canadian sign in April 2025, along with several similar hoaxes in the United Kingdom, which were also recently covered by British fact-checking organization FullFact. In February, British organization Tell MAMA reported the highest-ever number of incidents of anti-Muslim hate in the United Kingdom, while Canadian groups have also raised about instances of Islamophobia (archived here). Statistics Canada recorded a steady rise in police-reported hate crimes targeting Muslims between 2020 and 2024, behind the number and increase of anti-Semitic incidents (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
