In 2022, the Islamic State intensified attacks against Christians in Africa, Jihad Analytics found in a series of tweets posted Friday, Jan. 13; a trend that is likely to continue this year.On Sunday, Jan. 15, a homemade bomb attack targeted a Protestant church in the town of Kasindi, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) province of Beni. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, attributing it to its “province” in central Africa. According to the Amaq news agency, the jihadists targeted a “crowd of Christians engaged in Sunday rituals,” killing at least 20 and injuring dozens, in addition to destroying the place of worship, while Congolese authorities report about a dozen casualties.

Fiston Mahamba Wa Biondi, an expert on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the name of the jihadists operating in eastern DRC, believes this security incident is in response to losses suffered by the group in operations by loyalist forces.

Jihad Analytics points out that in 2022, Africa was the continent most affected by Islamic State attacks with a sharp increase in raids against Christians in Nigeria, Mozambique and the DRC. The open data analytics firm identified “two videos of Islamic State fighters in Mozambique and DRC threatening Christians and the publication of photos of burning churches throughout 2022.”