Just eight months after seizing power in Burkina Faso, Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba conceded the presidency to his rival, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, in a countercoup. What the change in leadership will mean for Burkina Faso’s deteriorating security situation and transition back to democratic elections is unclear.
Ever since the August 2021 suicide bombings at Kabul’s international airport, the Islamic State-Khorasan has continued to make headlines with gruesome attacks in Afghanistan, in an effort to portray itself as resurgent. The reality is more complicated, and there is a real possibility that IS-K is actually in decline.