A top U.S. general this weekend warned that a “wildfire of terrorism” is sweeping across Africa as the continent seems poised to become the new global epicenter for Islamic extremism.
Speaking to reporters during a major international military exercise in Morocco, Army Gen. Stephen J. Townsend said affiliates of major terrorist organizations al Qaeda and the Islamic State are growing stronger in Africa, particularly across the Sahel region. The Sahel includes parts of Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan and other nations in northern Africa.
Meanwhile, the al Qaeda offshoot al Shabab controls huge swaths of territory across Somalia and routinely carries out deadly terrorist attacks along the Horn of Africa.
