Mali’s Instability: Advantage, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) propensity for kidnapping was back on display earlier this week, as al Qaeda’s North African branch released a video of Swiss Christian missionary Beatrice Stockly, who has been held captive by the terrorist group for more than a year. The recording of Stockly was issued less than one month after French humanitarian aid worker Sophie Petronin was abducted by AQIM affiliate al-Mourabitoun in the eastern Malian region of Gao.

Snatching foreigners and turning hostages into profits has been a significant revenue stream for AQIM. “AQIM has historically netted the highest ransoms within the al Qaeda network,” explains Rukmini Callimachi, reporter at The New York Times and expert on al Qaeda and ISIS. Between 2008 and 2014, AQIM received approximately $91.5 million dollars in ransom payments, nearly three times the amount of the second largest total generated by al Qaeda’s Yemeni offshoot, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), during that same time span.

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