U.S. special operations forces joined Puntland’s elite counterterrorism units in a major assault on an Islamic State stronghold in Somalia’s Balade Valley, according to Somali security officials briefed on the operation.
The coordinated strike—one of the most significant joint actions in Puntland in recent years—unfolded overnight, when U.S. troops were inserted into the rugged valley aboard MH-60 helicopters while MQ-9 Reaper drones conducted precision strikes on suspected militant compounds in the Habarbakuuje and Mareero areas.
Security officials said the targeted enclave had served as a fortified hideout for a small but hardened ISIS cell, including foreign fighters from Syria, Turkey and Ethiopia.
The assault triggered an intense gun battle that lasted between two and four hours as militants attempted to repel advancing forces from defensive positions carved into the mountainsides.
Early assessments indicate that a senior ISIS commander and several of his aides were killed, with officials estimating between five and ten militant casualties.
Joint forces also destroyed weapons stockpiles and equipment believed to support the group’s gold-mining operations—an increasingly critical revenue source fueling ISIS activities in Puntland.
Puntland authorities have vowed to dismantle ISIS networks across the region by the end of 2025, and U.S. support has expanded in recent months.
American drones and intelligence assets have targeted ISIS hideouts across the Bari mountains, helping push fighters from their traditional strongholds into more isolated terrain.
A Puntland security official said the latest operation reflects “tightened coordination” with U.S. forces and forms part of a broader campaign to degrade ISIS’ financial pipelines and operational reach.
Washington has not yet publicly commented on the strike, but U.S. counterterrorism operations in northern Somalia are typically authorized under long-standing missions aimed at disrupting transnational extremist groups.
