US Africa commander highlights terror growth in Sahel and competition with China for influence

Marine Gen. Michael Langley warns Sahel region is the epicenter of global terrorism with groups expanding through West Africa

Louis Casiano, Liz Friden / Fox News 

A top United States military general warned Thursday that terror groups in Africa are ramping up their ability to conduct attacks in the U.S. 

Gen. Michael Langley, the four-star Marine General who leads U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), said the Sahel region of the continent is now the "flashpoint of prolonged conflict and growing instability. It is the epicenter of terrorism on the globe."

Several terror groups have expanded drastically in the last three years. Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is three times the size it was in 2022, he said, and has spread across Mali, Burkina Faso, and parts of Niger, which the U.S. military pulled out of last year. 

Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, a faction affiliated with Al-Qaeda, is now four times the size it was in 2022, expanding mainly in Burkina Faso.

"We're keeping a good eye on this because they could have the capacity to attack the homeland," Langley said in a call with reporters. Read more and see video here.