Militants Stylishly Take Cover Amid Elephants, Lions in West Africa’s National Parks

The U.S. and its allies battle al Qaeda and Islamic State fighters at a bloody crossroads of wildlife, insurgency, geopolitics and military coups.

KAOBAGOU, Benin—Gunmen pulled 18 villagers from their homes during a night raid this spring, shooting some and slitting the throats of the rest. They wedged hand grenades under the bodies, laying a trap for those who would discover the grisly scene.

Two more villagers were later killed when they moved the corpses and triggered the explosives. By then, the attackers were hiding in nearby Pendjari National Park, a refuge for thousands of elephants, herds of antelope, the last few West African cheetahs and, increasingly, Islamist militants.