“The group, through its media organization Az-Zallaqa Foundation, also criticized journalists and the local government's security management in light of the crisis in the region on Monday, regional media reported. The 72-year-old was kidnapped by unknown assailants on Saturday in the desert city of Agadez. According to KURIER information, the assailant is Eva Gretzmacher, who lives in Niger… Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), the "Support Group for Islam and Muslims," is a Mali-based affiliated al-Qaeda group that has expanded its operations to neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal in recent years. As a formal al-Qaeda branch in Africa, JNIM is committed to disempowering regional governments and implementing sharia (Islamic law) in the areas in which it operates, explains the anti-extremism organization Counter Extremism Project (CEP).”

“... “Despite the seriousness of the situation and the significant deterioration of the security situation that the attack demonstrated, it hardly drew any media attention,” the senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, tells the Sun.  Similarly, a second Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin attack occurred on September 17 in neighboring Bamako, the Mali capital. More than 70 were slain and at least 200 more injured, with little coverage in the Western press.  According to Hans-Jakob Schindler’s assessment, there are two main reasons why the terrorist situation in West Africa is not getting much attention: One is that the conflict in the Middle East has taken center stage, and the second is that over the past two years, Western forces have withdrawn from the region almost entirely.”