Mali Offers $3.5 Mln Reward for Al-Qaeda Sahel Leader

Mali's military government has announced a $3.5 million reward for information leading to the capture or death of Iyad Ag Ghaly, the leader of an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group operating across the Sahel.

Ag Ghaly heads Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin is a united front of various Salafi jihadist organizations in the Maghreb and West Africa formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, al-Mourabitoun and the Saharan branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

In a statement broadcast on state television, Mali's security ministry offered a reward of two billion CFA francs (about $3.5 million) for intelligence leading to Ag Ghaly's capture or neutralization. Authorities also announced a $2.5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of his deputy, Amadou Koufa.

The government said the wanted individuals are suspected of planning and carrying out terrorist attacks that have threatened lives and property across the country.

Mali has faced a persistent insurgency for more than a decade involving Islamist militants linked to both Al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as criminal armed groups. The country has been under military rule since a 2020 coup.