Washington considers direct strikes on Mali’s Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM
The Trump administration has opened internal deliberations on whether to authorize United States military strikes against the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) in Mali. The alliance, an Al-Qaeda affiliate operating across the Sahel, has been expanding its reach despite ongoing regional counterterrorism efforts.
Discussions within the White House national security team reveal sharp divides over the proposal. Advocates, including Sebastian Gorka—the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council—argue that targeted strikes could degrade the group’s operational capacity and send a deterrent message across the region.
When pressed for confirmation, a senior administration official declined to either validate or dismiss the possibility of military action. Instead, the official emphasized Washington’s push for African partners in the Maghreb and West Africa to invest in American-made defense systems, training, and logistical support to bolster their own counterterrorism capabilities.
The official framed terrorism in the Sahel as a transnational threat, urging regional partners and NATO allies to back the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in its confrontation with JNIM and the Islamic State. He also drew a direct link between Mali’s worsening security crisis and the failure of its security cooperation with Russia, calling the partnership ineffective against jihadist expansion and warning other African nations to heed the lesson.
The Department of Defense declined to comment on the deliberations, while the State Department reiterated its unequivocal condemnation of all terrorist activities in Mali.
JNIM, recognized as Al-Qaeda’s most potent franchise in the Sahel, has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by Washington since 2018.