Mali: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's Ransom Revenue

Burkina Faso announced Oct. 11 that it will deploy 1,000 troops to its northern border with Mali to prevent al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb from expanding its kidnapping operations into Burkinabe territory. AQIM has not yet targeted Burkina Faso in its kidnapping operations, but the traditional hostage-taking area — including northern Mali, northern Niger, eastern Mauritania and southern Algeria — has been constrained as a result of the Malian insurgency. Foreigners are no longer traveling to this hostile Sahel region to the extent that they once were, limiting AQIM's kidnapping targets at a time when pressure from counterterrorism efforts is forcing the jihadist group to spend more on defense.

AQIM earns roughly $3 million in ransom for each foreign hostage it releases; the group is also estimated to spend approximately $2 million of that ransom money per month to support its operations. If this trend were to continue, AQIM ordinarily would not need to compel its next ransom payout until around May 2013. However, due to increased counterterrorism operations against it, the jihadist group will likely increase its defensive measures, which will necessitate an uptick in revenue. Taking hostages — one of AQIM's several sources of financing — will likely occur more frequently as the group attempts to raise more funds.