Africa's Sahel becomes latest al-Qaeda-IS battleground

In its report, IS decried recent al-Qaeda attacks on IS militants in Mali and Burkina Faso, where both groups are active. It said JNIM, on the orders of its leaders Iyad Ag Ghaly and Amadou Koufa, had amassed big forces to target IS on a number of occasions in both countries since April. It also complained that JNIM was blocking fuel supplies from reaching IS militants and detaining locals suspected of supporting IS. This JNIM move, IS said, coincides with an upscale in operations against IS by regional African and French troops in the Sahel. JNIM, IS claimed, used these conditions as an opportunity to target IS at this particular time. It alleged that IS was the only obstacle facing JNIM...