Global Terrorism Index 2025

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Terrorist Groups (Part 3): Jamaat Nusarat Al-Islam wal Musilimeen (JNIM)
Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) was formed in 2017 in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa as a coalition of Salafi-jihadist insurgent groups, including Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Since its emergence, JNIM has expanded across the Central Sahel, committing acts of violence against civilians, local security forces and counterterrorism operations made up of international militaries and UN peacekeepers. JNIM claims its aims are to incite Muslims to oppose oppression, expel occupying powers from the Sahel region and implement Islamic governance. JNIM’s leaders have declared its enemies to be France and other countries assisting France.

Recent counterterrorism efforts have focused on disrupting JNIM's growing influence in the Sahel region, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso, where the group remains the dominant insurgent force. Malian armed forces backed by Africa Corps, formerly the Wagner Group, launched targeted operations against a key JNIM stronghold in Tinzaouatene, near the Algeria-Mali border. JNIM succeeded and took control of the territory, highlighting the ineffectiveness of the counterterrorism measures currently being undertaken in Mali. This operation is part of broader efforts to dismantle JNIM's infrastructure, which continues to pose significant challenges to security forces. 

JNIM maintains considerable territorial control, particularly in central Mali’s Mopti, Segou and Timbuktu regions, where it operates with relative impunity. Its ability to embed itself in local communities and exploit weak governance has solidified its position as the most prominent insurgent group in the region. While IS affiliates maintain a presence, their influence and activity remain limited compared to JNIM. The group’s strategic use of porous borders and challenging terrain has allowed it to evade direct confrontations, even as counterterrorism forces ramp up operations. 

The persistence of JNIM underscores the complexity of the security environment in the Sahel. Governments face mounting pressure to not only address the group militarily, but also to tackle the underlying socio-economic and governance issues that fuel its recruitment and local support. Continued military campaigns, along with enhanced regional collaboration and international support, will be crucial to curbing JNIM’s influence and securing long-term stability in the region.

Changes since 2023 
JNIM was the second deadliest terrorist group in 2024, with 1,454 deaths from 146 attacks being attributed to it. However, the group’s actual impact is likely much greater, given the significant number of unclaimed attacks in the region where it operates. Last year marked the first time JNIM was confirmed to be responsible for more than 1,000 terrorism-related deaths in a single year. 

Deaths from terrorism attributed to JNIM are now at their highest level since the group’s emergence in 2017, with deaths increasing by 46 per cent since 2023. The number of JNIM attacks also increased by more than a quarter. JNIM’s lethality rate is also now at its highest level, with an average of ten people killed per attack, making it the most lethal terror group in 2024. 

Of the 1,454 deaths attributed to JNIM in 2024, 67 per cent occurred in Burkina Faso and a further 22 per cent occurred in Mali. Niger experienced a sharp increase in attacks carried out by the group, with 13 incidents in 2024 compared to only two in the previous year. These 13 attacks killed 109 people, an almost 14-fold increase in JNIM deaths from the eight recorded in Niger in 2023. This is the first year JNIM have killed more than ten people in Niger. 

JNIM has also continued its campaign outside of the Sahel, with Benin and Togo experiencing three and four attacks, respectively. The group’s death toll in Togo was the highest on record, with 41 deaths in 2024, compared to 12 in 2023. This underscores the continued spread of JNIM’s influence beyond the Sahel region and into coastal West Africa. 

JNIM’s deadliest attack in 2024 occurred in August when gunmen attacked a town in Burkina Faso, claiming to target militia members affiliated with the army. Both soldiers and civilians were attempting to dig trenches, as they had been warned of an impending attack. Various sources reported that the attack resulted in anywhere from 200 to 600 deaths, many of which were reported to be women and children.

JNIM’s activity in Burkina Faso surged in 2024, with deaths and attacks increasing by over 50 per cent compared to the previous year. Most of JNIM attacks continue to occur in the Centre-Nord region, which saw 12 attacks resulting in 327 deaths in 2024, compared to eight attacks and 161 deaths in 2023. JNIM appears to be expanding its reach both north and south of Centre-Nord, with a four- and fivefold increase in deaths in the neighbouring Sahel and Centre-Est regions, respectively. Civilians represented 38 per cent of JNIM casualties in Burkina Faso in 2023, but this figure surged to 67 per cent in 2024. Military were the next most targeted group by JNIM in Burkina Faso, with 141 military personnel killed in 16 attacks. 

JNIM’s activity in Mali was concentrated in the eastern regions of the country, bordering parts of Burkina Faso and Niger. JNIM activity in Koulikoro decreased by 75 per cent; however, deaths in the region increased by a quarter. Attacks more than doubled in Mopti, while Segou experienced decreased activity from the group. Bamako, the capital of Mali, experienced the country’s deadliest attack of 2024, when 60 soldiers were killed in a two-stage attack on a military academy, followed by an air base later that same day. JNIM claimed responsibility for the attack, marking the first time the group had attacked the city since its inception.

Tactics favoured by JNIM 
As JNIM largely operates within existing conflict zones, most of its attacks are targeted against the military. In 2024, nearly half of all JNIM attacks were directed at the military; however, military personnel accounted for less than one-third of deaths. Civilians accounted for the largest share of deaths, comprising over half of all fatalities attributed to JNIM. Civilian deaths more than doubled in a single year, increasing from 343 in 2023 to 761 in 2024. Armed assaults remain JNIM’s most lethal tactic, responsible for 98 per cent of all fatalities and 82 per cent of all attacks attributed to the group. Deaths from armed assaults increased by 60 per cent compared to 2023, exceeding 1,000 deaths for the first time. 

​Global Terrorism Index 2025. Institute for Economics & Peace. Sydney, Australia.