Since Mali's coup in March 2012 , several militant groups have exploited the resultant power vacuum to establish bases in the country's north. Three such groups are notable terrorist organizations: al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, known commonly as MUJAO. Assessing the state of jihadist activity in northern Mali requires the best practices of intelligence estimates. The region is remote, opaque and complicated by ethnic rivalries, and its militants conceal their activities. Moreover, terrorists and counterterrorism officials alike have been known to inflate information to serve their respective interests. Still, when U.S. officials tied the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi to the North African jihadists, they directed the world's attention to militant groups in northern Mali. These groups need to be examined accordingly.