Al-Qaeda

Thousands of Muslim volunteers flocked to Afghanistan in 1979 to fight the Soviets in response to a rallying cry, aided by the largest covert operation in CIA history

Al Qaeda affiliates are working with Tuareg fighters to overrun Mali, with historic Timbuktu set to fall, and the capital Bamako also encircled. In this part of the world, pragmatism is a necessity.

A coordinated attack by an Al-Qaida-linked group and Tuareg rebels was the most serious on Mali's Russian-backed military junta in years. After years of dominance, this puts Moscow on the back foot.

A five-day visit to Moscow ended with agreements to cooperate in a range of areas. Mali wants nuclear power and Russian military support, whereas the Kremlin has its eyes on a precious metal.

A recent jihadist attack on Mali's capital and a growing threat from northern rebels reportedly getting help from Ukraine begs the question: is the Sahel a new Russia-West battleground?

Jihadists were able to portray the presence of US troops in the region as an 'occupation', which some extremists fell prey to, birthing the first wave of jihadist terrorism in the 1990s.