Militants Thrive Off the Drought: ISIS Buys Goats and Cows to Survive in Al Miskaad Mountains.
Security officials in Puntland say Islamic State militants entrenched in the Al Miskaad Mountains continue to receive livestock supplies from local herders, exposing the persistent economic and logistical lifelines that have allowed the group to endure despite an ongoing regional offensive.
According to security sources, ISIS fighters purchase animals from nomadic families near the Baalade Valley, often offering two to three times the market price.
The inflated payments have drawn drought-stricken pastoralists struggling with debt, creating a covert supply chain that sustains the group’s mountain units even as Puntland forces tighten operations under the U.S.-backed Operation Hilaac campaign.
Since its launch in late 2024, Operation Hilaac has retaken multiple caves and outposts across the Golis and Al Miskaad ranges.
Yet officials acknowledge that small ISIS cells remain active, exploiting the rugged terrain and local vulnerabilities to maintain mobility and resupply networks.
In several recently reclaimed villages, Puntland troops discovered fresh slaughter sites believed to have been used by ISIS fighters.
The finds have reinforced assessments that the group still depends on local commerce and informal trade links with families living in remote settlements.
Regional authorities have repeatedly warned residents against providing material support or maintaining ties with ISIS.
Last month, Puntland’s Interior Ministry ordered the evacuation of Tasjiic and nearby villages in Bari region over concerns of collaboration, though the order stalled after residents protested that they had nowhere to relocate.
Fighting has intensified around the Baallade Valley and nearby water sources such as the Baarakalaah well. Puntland officials confirmed casualties among their forces but did not release figures.
ISIS claimed to have repelled six assaults and killed ten Puntland troops — a claim that remains unverified.
U.S. airstrikes have played a growing role in supporting Puntland’s campaign.
In February, authorities reported that American strikes killed 46 ISIS militants in the Al Miskaad range, while in July, Puntland forces captured Abdiweli Mohamed Aw Yusuf, the group’s finance and foreign-relations chief, who had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Despite heavy losses, analysts estimate ISIS retains roughly 100 fighters scattered across the Habley Mountains and Baallade Valley.
The continued flow of livestock and cash from impoverished herders underscores the enduring difficulty of isolating militant cells in Somalia’s harsh northern highlands.
