Once again worrying news has emerged from the West African country Mali. According to security sources, terrorists associated with Al Qaeda have kidnapped five Indian citizens near Kobri in the western region of Mali. All these Indians were employees of a private company working on an electrification project.

The incident took place on Thursday when armed terrorists surrounded their vehicle and abducted everyone. A company representative told French news agency AFP that the remaining Indian employees were immediately evacuated to the capital Bamako for security reasons. Although till now no terrorist organization has taken responsibility for this incident, but suspicion is being raised on the networks associated with Al Qaeda and ISIS.

Indians were also kidnapped in July

This is not the first case. Also in July 2025, three Indians were kidnapped, including citizens of Rajasthan, Odisha and Telangana. Responsibility for that incident was taken by Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen (JNIM), an organization associated with Al Qaeda. JNIM has claimed responsibility for several violent attacks in Mali in the last few years.

More than 400 Indians are working in Mali

According to government figures, about 400 Indian citizens currently live and work in Mali. Most of these are related to construction, mining and infrastructure sectors. Due to continuously increasing terrorist attacks and kidnapping incidents, serious questions are now being raised on their security.

Mali becomes a bastion of ransom and kidnapping

Mali’s Sahel region (which includes Niger and Burkina Faso) has long been a center of terrorist activities. Violence here has been continuously increasing since the 2012 coup and military conflicts. In September 2024, JNIM jihadists kidnapped two Emirati and an Iranian citizen, who were later released after paying a ransom of $50 million.

Sahel becoming terrorist center of the world

According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), the Sahel region has now become the new epicenter of terrorism in the world. The report says that more than half of the deaths due to terrorism worldwide occur in this region.

Indian government monitoring

The Indian Foreign Ministry has not yet given an official statement on this incident, but according to sources, the Indian Embassy is in constant touch with the local administration. Efforts have been intensified for the safe release of the kidnapped Indians.

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