Somali and allied forces escalate strikes against ISIS in Puntland, killing over 13 foreign fighters in a strategic blow to terrorism.
Somalia’s Puntland region just delivered a devastating blow to ISIS, eliminating over 13 foreign jihadists in a high-precision airstrike deep within the Calmiskaad mountains. The operation, part of an aggressive counterterrorism campaign, marks a turning point in the war against ISIS in East Africa.
Regional security officials confirmed the airstrike targeted key terrorist hideouts in the Dhasaq area, a notorious militant stronghold. While the specific country behind the strike remains undisclosed, all signs point to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), which recently carried out a series of coordinated attacks on ISIS operatives in Somalia. These latest strikes reinforce the message: ISIS will find no safe haven in Puntland’s rugged terrain.
Somali security forces, alongside their international partners, have been relentless. Over the past month, ISIS strongholds have been systematically dismantled in Hararyo, Toga-Jeceel, and other key regions. Militants who once believed Puntland was an impenetrable sanctuary are now on the run, their bases obliterated, their leadership decimated.
ISIS in Somalia, though smaller than al-Shabaab, has been growing in strategic importance, acting as a conduit for foreign fighters and funding networks linked to the global ISIS hierarchy. The elimination of these foreign jihadists disrupts ISIS’s operational capabilities, striking at the heart of its ambitions to expand across the Horn of Africa.
With Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s “all-out war” against jihadist groups escalating, Puntland’s latest strike signals an unyielding resolve to eradicate terrorism. As ISIS fighters scramble for survival, one thing is clear: the hunt is far from over.
