Mali junta offers $3.5 million reward for Sahel Al-Qaeda chief

Mali's military government on Thursday offered a $3.5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or killing of the leader of Al-Qaeda's Sahel branch.

giovedì 4 giugno 2026 New tab

264 words~1 min read

June 4, 2026

Mali junta leader Assimi Goïta

Mali’s military government on Thursday offered a $3.5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or killing of the leader of Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch.

Iyad Ag Ghaly, head of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), is the region’s most wanted man as the leader of the biggest jihadist force battling the juntas ruling many of the Sahel states.

Ghaly, a former Malian diplomat and Tuareg rebel, is also on the US terrorist list and the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. Since its creation in 2017, his JNIM has been blamed for a number of daring attacks on the military authorities.