Armed group profile · SD Strength Index
JNIM: military strength 2026
How strong is JNIM in 2026?
Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin is a coalition of katibas under Iyad Ag Ghaly, fighting across Mali, Burkina Faso, western Niger and the borderlands of Benin and Togo. It sets strategy and propaganda from the centre, taxes and governs rural areas, and on 25 April 2026 coordinated attacks on several cities in a single day.
It sits just behind ISWAP and Boko Haram and ahead of the Polisario Front and Hamas. Light firepower and almost no outside help hold it down. Cohesion and years on the offensive against a state backed by Russia stop it sliding further.
How many fighters does JNIM have?
Silent Dossier estimates about 8,000, within 6,000 to 12,000, and the group has probably grown since 2024. Estimates from late 2025 put it at 6,000 or more. Russia's Africa Corps claims 10,000 to 12,000 JNIM and FLA fighters took part in the April offensive, a joint figure from an enemy.
The full time core is put at 2,000 to 4,000, organised in katibas such as Macina, Ansar Dine and Gourma. Around them are recruits from local defence groups and allied community militias, an irregular force nobody has counted. Discipline varies from katiba to katiba.
What weapons does JNIM have?
No tanks, no aircraft and no missiles. JNIM moves on motorbikes and armed technicals, swarming bases and manning blockade checkpoints. Its fighters carry small arms, heavy machine guns, RPGs and mortars, most captured from Malian, Burkinabe and Nigerien forces or smuggled in. Armoured vehicles and guns seized from overrun bases, as at Dioura in September, add to the stock. Car bombs are part of its method: one killed Mali's defence minister in Kati. Pirogues on the Niger river carry attackers. Its fire reaches 5 to 20 km at most.
Its first armed drone strike came in September 2023, and by the middle of 2025 it had carried out more than a dozen, including FPV kamikaze attacks. Counts of jihadist drone incidents across the Sahel went from 3 in 2023 to 175 in 2025, with 101 by September 2026. Kamikaze drones hit the Aguelhok base in March and April 2026. They are commercial models from Sahel markets. Guns on technicals threaten helicopters too, and a Russian Mi-35 was downed in the April offensive, attributed to JNIM or the FLA.
What has JNIM done in 2026?
Between 2023 and 2025 it overran dozens of bases in Mali and Burkina Faso, among them Barsalogho and Djibo, attacked Bamako in September 2024 and from September 2025 imposed a fuel blockade that has destroyed more than 300 tankers.
On 25 April it launched with the Tuareg FLA the largest offensive of the war, striking Bamako, Kati, Gao, Sevare and Mopti while Kidal fell to the FLA. Malian and Russian forces left the Kidal region. On 28 April JNIM declared a full blockade of Bamako, with roadblocks 80 to 90 km out, and on 4 May junta leader Goita named himself defence minister.
The blockade was reimposed and tightened in July and August, and the army now runs escorted fuel convoys. On 10 September an attack on the Dioura camp reportedly killed more than 100 soldiers and captured 92, figures no one has verified. In October the Malian army retook Kidal with Russian support after the FLA withdrew. JNIM's claims of gains around Mopti, Sevare and Gao are unverified. The group has carried out mass killings of civilians.
Who backs and funds JNIM?
Al-Qaeda gives it a brand and a network but little material help, and in 2026 it formed a tactical alliance with the FLA. The money is its own: zakat levied on rural people and trade, kidnap ransoms, the cattle and artisanal gold economies, and weapons taken from the armies it beats.
Key figures
| Fighters | 6,000–12k | C |
| Full-time trained core | 2,000–4,000 | C |
| Ballistic missiles | 0 | B |
| Cruise and anti-ship missiles | 0 | B |
| Longest strike range (km) | 5–20 | C |
| Tanks | 0 | B |
| Aircraft | 0 | B |
A confirmed B strong estimate C estimated range
Main weapons
| Motorcycles and armed technicals | — | B |
| Small arms, HMGs, RPGs, mortars | — | B |
| VBIEDs / IEDs | — | A |
| Commercial quadcopters and FPV kamikaze drones | — | B |
Assessment
| Firepower | 2/5 | |
| Cohesion and command | 4/5 | |
| Outside support | 1/5 | |
| Combat experience | 5/5 | |
| Professionalism | 3/5 |
Backers. al-Qaeda
Ground. It controls or dominates rural areas across central and southern Mali, much of Burkina Faso and western Niger, and is expanding into the borderlands of coastal states. It holds Tessit and blockades roads into Bamako.
Professional or irregular. A coalition of katibas under Iyad Ag Ghaly with a central strategy, propaganda arm, local courts and taxation; an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 permanent fighters form its core. It showed coordinated attacks on several cities in April 2026, but discipline varies by katiba and its units have carried out mass killings of civilians.
What changed in 2026
Questions readers ask
How many fighters does JNIM have?
Silent Dossier estimates about 8,000, within a range of 6,000 to 12,000. Between 2,000 and 4,000 are full time; the rest are local recruits and allied community militias.
Is JNIM part of al-Qaeda?
Yes. JNIM is al-Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel, led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. Its support from al-Qaeda is mostly name and network rather than money or weapons.
Does JNIM have drones?
Yes. It has used armed commercial drones since September 2023, including FPV kamikaze types, and hit the Aguelhok base with them in 2026. The size of its fleet is unknown.
Is JNIM blockading Bamako?
Yes. It declared a full blockade on 28 April 2026, with roadblocks 80 to 90 km from the capital, and tightened it again in July and August. The army now escorts fuel convoys into the city.
Is JNIM stronger than ISWAP?
Just behind it on the index. JNIM is the more cohesive force and has the bigger recent wins, but ISWAP has Islamic State backing and more organised fighting units, while JNIM gets almost no outside help.