From the BBC today:

Mali has freed four militants from jail weeks after al-Qaeda's North African branch threatened to kill a French hostage if the men were not released.

Wait, what?

Yes, you read it correctly. Today, Mali released 4 militants belonging to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). While Malinese officials swear that they are not caving to the demands of the group, merely releasing people who had done their time, I find that highly unlikely. AQIM has been growing in strength in both Mali and neighboring Mauritania during the past year, and it appears that Malinese officials are taking an appeasing approach to growing Islamic radicalism amongst their people. From Olivier Guetta at the excellent Counter-Terrorism blog:

Mali enjoys a very good reputation around the world. It boasts a vibrant democracy with a multi-party system, a market economy and a tradition of a moderate Islam. But things might be changing: Since 2001, worrying signs have emerged— for example, the proliferation of Osama bin Laden's photo in stalls at the Bamako market and the exponential increase of radio stations preaching radical Islam.

This trend in Mali should be on every CT professionals radar. AQIM is...