Morocco Confronts ISIS Threat as Fighters Join African Affiliates

Rabat – According to a new report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, nearly five years after losing its grip on core territories in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State is making alarming gains across Africa, seizing control of towns and villages in Mali, Somalia, and Mozambique.

The report highlights Morocco’s crucial role in combating the terrorist group’s expansion, as a growing number of Moroccans are being drawn into its ranks as foreign fighters, threatening to further destabilize the Sahel region and potentially launch external operations against the West.

In recent months, Moroccan authorities have cracked down on numerous jihadist cells seeking to send fighters to join the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed “Sahel Province” in Mali.

The report details a series of counterterrorism operations conducted by Moroccan authorities since early 2023, which have disrupted numerous IS recruitment and facilitation cells across the country.

These operations, some conducted jointly with Spanish forces, have targeted networks in cities such as Chtouka Ait Baha, Almeria, Souk El Arbaa, Tetouan, Larache, Tangier, Casablanca, Beni Mellal, Inezgane, and Sale.

“Since early 2023, a trickle of arrests among Moroccan and Spanish jihadist networks has indicated growing interest in foreign fighter recruitment to Mali,” writes Aaron Y. Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, in this recent analysis.

Africa is becoming a rear base for global terrorism

The flow of Moroccan fighters to IS strongholds in Africa is not limited to the Sahel region. In November, Moroccan operatives were captured in a mountainous area of Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region named Cal Miskaat, where they were operating alongside local IS members. Just a few months later, a high-ranking Moroccan member of IS-Somalia was apprehended in the town of Ufeyn, together with a Syrian operative.

While the number of foreign fighters streaming into Africa pales in comparison to the mobilization seen in Syria in the past decade, experts warn that even small influxes can lead to devastating consequences.

“Although the flow of fighters to Africa is nowhere near what was seen in Syria last decade, even small mobilizations can lead to external terrorist operations in Western countries, as seen with plots emanating from Somalia and Yemen years ago,” Zelin notes.

The Islamic State’s territorial gains in Africa are particularly concerning given the group’s shifting focus to external operations. With much of its attack planning moving from Syria to Afghanistan, IS branches like those in Somalia are playing an increasingly vital role in financing the organization’s global ambitions.

“IS-Somalia has become a key node in the Islamic State’s global fundraising networks, connecting financiers from South Africa to IS-K,” Zelin writes, using an acronym for the group’s Afghanistan affiliate. “With IS-Somalia seizing territory of its own, it could provide even more resources for IS-K’s expanding global target set.”

In Mozambique, the Islamic State’s local branch is also regaining strength after losing ground to counterterrorism campaigns led by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM). With SAMIM set to withdraw in July, IS-Mozambique has seized towns in the Cabo Delgado province and pushed southward into the Chiure district.

The resurgence of IS-Mozambique threatens not only regional stability but also critical energy projects. French company TotalEnergies plans to restart a major liquefied natural gas project near areas where the terrorist group operates, but experts caution against premature optimism. Mozambique boasts the fifth-largest LNG capacity in Africa, and the ongoing insurgency has exacerbated global market woes triggered by the war in Ukraine.

To counter the growing threat posed by the Islamic State in Africa, Zelin urges Western governments and their local partners to maintain robust counterterrorism efforts. This includes stemming the flow of foreign fighters, hardening potential targets, and designating IS financial facilitators to disrupt the group’s funding networks.

“Allowing IS to stack up wins and build new governance projects could give the group more space to plan another game-changing atrocity that puts it back atop the West’s policy agenda,” Zelin warns.

As the Islamic State’s African affiliates gain strength, Morocco finds itself on the frontlines of a battle to prevent the terrorist group from using the continent as a launchpad for global terror.

The kingdom’s relentless counterterrorism operations serve as a model for the region, but the fight is far from over. With each passing month, the stakes grow higher, and the need for concerted action becomes ever more urgent.