Africa now accounts for the majority of ISIS activity, US report warns
A US House Homeland Security Committee report finds that over two-thirds of ISIS operations in early 2025 occurred in Africa, highlighting a major geographic shift in jihadist violence.
In a briefing marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the US House Committee on Homeland Security released a report showing that more than two-thirds of ISIS-linked activity in the first half of 2025 took place in Africa, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project. Seven of the ten countries with the most terrorism-related deaths are on the continent, with five concentrated in the Sahel region.
The shift challenges US counter-terrorism policy, which has traditionally focused on the Middle East, due to fragile governments, limited intelligence collection and poor information sharing in Africa. The committee highlights a growing trend of decentralized attacks and individuals radicalised through online propaganda, noting a 300 % increase in such cases over the past decade. It also warns that extremist networks are exploiting migration routes, smuggling channels and digital platforms, while terrorist groups, criminal cartels and hostile states increasingly intersect in cyberspace, using AI, drones and 3D-printed weapons.
Why it matters
The surge of ISIS activity in Africa strains global counter-terrorism resources and signals a new, digitally-driven threat landscape.
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