Salafi-Jihadi Movement Weekly Update, October 18, 2023
October 18, 2023 - ISW Press![](https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumb-wide/public/CTP%20With%20ISW%20Stacked_17_141.png?itok=GMiY_ZDd)
Al Qaeda’s affiliates in sub-Saharan Africa may exploit the latest Israel-Hamas war to target their regional or Western adversaries under the pretext of supporting Hamas. These attacks would simultaneously advance the affiliates’ transnational propaganda narratives while furthering their preexisting local campaigns. Al Qaeda’s Somali affiliate will likely increase the rate and scale of attacks in Kenya and against US and Kenyan forces in the Horn of Africa. The group’s Sahelian affiliate is unlikely to do the same against UN peacekeepers or foreigners because international disengagement from the region has removed many potential targets and incentives.