Country Reports on Terrorism 2015 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Ansar al-Dine

aka Ansar Dine; Ansar al-Din; Ancar Dine; Ansar ul-Din; Ansar Eddine; Defenders of the Faith

Description: Ansar al-Dine (AAD) was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 22, 2013. Operating in Mali, AAD was created in late 2011 after AAD's leader, Iyad ag Ghali, failed in an attempt to take over another secular Tuareg organization. Following the March 2012 coup that toppled the Malian government, AAD was among the organizations (including al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM] and Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa) to take over northern Mali, destroy UNESCO World Heritage sites, and enforce a severe interpretation of Sharia law upon the civilian population living in the areas it controlled.

Beginning in January 2013, French and allied African forces conducted operations in northern Mali to counter AAD and other violent extremist groups, eventually forcing AAD and its allies out of the population centers they had seized. Ghali, however, remained free, and in October 2015 appeared in an AAD video threatening to attack France.

Activities: AAD received backing from AQIM in its fight against the Government of Mali – most notably in the capture of the Malian towns of Agulhok, Gao, Kidal, Tessalit, and Timbuktu, between January and April 2012. In March 2012, Tuareg rebels, reportedly including AAD, executed 82 Malian soldiers and kidnapped 30 others in an attack against the town of Aguelhok. Before the French intervention in January 2013, Malian citizens in towns under AAD's control who did not comply with AAD's laws, reportedly faced harassment, torture, and execution.

AAD was severely weakened by the 2013 French intervention in Mali, but increased the pace of its attacks in 2015. In June, AAD claimed responsibility for attacks in Nara, Misseni, and Fakola, Mali, which killed 12 people and damaged public buildings. In November, AAD was one of the terrorist groups to claim participation in an attack – likely planned by al-Mulathamun Battalion (aka al-Murabitoun) – against the Radisson Hotel in Bamako, Mali that killed 20 people. That same month, AAD claimed responsibility for an attack against a UN base in Kidal, which killed three people, including two Guinean UN peacekeepers. In December, AAD carried out a series of attacks against French and Malian interests, including an IED attack targeting Chadian and French military vehicles in Tessalit, Mali.

Strength: The group's exact membership numbers were unknown at the end of 2015.

Location/Area of Operation: Mali. In 2015, AAD also threatened to attack Mauritania and the Ivory Coast.

Funding and External Aid: AAD cooperates closely with and has received support from AQIM since its inception. AAD is also said to receive funds from foreign donors and through smuggling.