Hayat Alvi

Africa is the springboard for al-Qaeda’s global terrorism in modern history. The U.S. Embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya in August 1998 put al-Qaeda on the map and led to major counter-terrorism operations throughout parts of Africa. Bin Laden made a strategic decision to use Africa as a launching pad for al-Qaeda’s global network and appeal. The linkages of Jihadist terrorism in Africa trace back to the fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Today, al-Qaeda and ISIS continue to use Africa as an important locale of operations. If improvements in human security, economies, politics, education, conflict resolution, and wealth distribution are not addressed, then the continent will continue to experience history repeating itself involving Jihadist terrorism in Africa.