Latest "West Africa" stories

How Niger’s attempted coup could expand extremism, and Wagner

More than 1,000 U.S. service personnel are in Niger to combat the growing threat from various groups of Islamic extremists.

8 weeks ago

An A-29B Super Tucano flies over Mauritanian Army soldiers as they pose for a picture in Atar, Mauritania, Feb. 17, 2020, during Flintlock 2020, U.S. Africa Command's largest annual special operations forces exercise.

AFRICOM’s Flintlock exercise to kick off in Cote d’Ivoire amid regional tensions

Flintlock 2022 will be taking place Feb. 15-28 in Cote d'Ivoire.

By Rachel Nostrant

20 months ago

Special operations forces kick off international exercise in the Sahel, the ‘tinderbox of terrorist activity’

The U.S. and 30 other countries will have an opportunity to hone their intelligence-sharing skills at Flintlock, an annual military exercise that gets underway Feb. 17.

By Diana Stancy Correll

4 years ago

Marine Raider who earned Silver Star for heroism during Mali hotel attack now on Capitol Hill

Marine Raider Master Sgt. Jarad Stout was awarded the Silver Star for his heroic actions in rescuing hostages during the 2015 terrorist attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali.

By Shawn Snow

4 years ago

UN report: Up to 30,000 Islamic State members in Iraq, Syria

The Islamic State extremist group has up to 30,000 members roughly equally distributed between Syria and Iraq and its global network poses a rising threat — as does al-Qaida, which is much stronger in places, a United Nations report says.

By Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press

5 years ago

Fallout from Niger ambush could scale back Africa missions, strip commanders of autonomy

A probe into the Niger ambush that killed four U.S. soldiers is expected to recommend reducing ground missions in West Africa and stripping field commanders of the autonomy that allows them to send service members on risky missions.

By Kyle Rempfer

6 years ago

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