In the bustling, sun-baked region of Bosaso, tucked away in northeastern Somalia, a daring episode unfolded that’s creating quite the buzz. The Puntland Defense Forces, at the crack of dawn, held their ground fiercely against a sudden ISIS encroachment in Bari’s rocky hinterlands. Barely had the roosters crowed on Tuesday morning when military brass announced their crew had managed to fend off the ISIS onslaught.
General Mohamud Mohamed Ahmed Faadhigo, the voice of the spunky Puntland Defense Forces, painted a vivid picture of the chaos at the Dharjaale base. While gearing up for a significant military sweep, the forces found themselves under siege.
“Around 4:00 in the a.m., those ISIS folks tried their hand at raiding our counter-terror hideout in Dharjaale. Good thing our radar was up—managed to blow them out of the water, foreigners included,” laughed General Faadhigo.
Just the other week, Puntland had dropped hints of a hefty operation aiming to nix the militancy contagion in the area. A battalion of troops rolled into Bari’s mountainous vistas, cheek by jowl with the Red Sea, laying down roots and ready to rumble.
Come Tuesday, the militants charged in style with a kamikaze car bomb, but the home team wasn’t shaking in their boots. They sent the foes packing in no time.
Word on the street, or rather, from Faadhigo’s lips, is that none of the attackers made it out alive. Not even the eight international wildcard fighters, whose gear found a new home with the triumphant troops.
In whispers carried by the wind through remote mountain burbs, local voices spoke of ISIS heavies limping back after a sound defeat. “Things are still touch and go,” shared one villager with a knowing nod.
Puntland’s second-in-command, Ilyas Osman, threw a defining shout-out to their gallant defenders. “Puntland’s flag flies high because of these warriors. Let’s rally behind them as they take down these terror machines,” he hollered on Facebook.
The military splashed imagery across the web featuring impounded firepower, such as AK-47s inscribed with the Shahada, pilfered from the once-bragging militants.
On the flip side, Puntland’s head honcho, President Said Abdullahi Deni, took a hands-on approach, visiting the wounded soldiers languishing in a Bosaso hospital. His pep talk promised unwavering backing and visible camaraderie.
Though tight-lipped about exact casualty figures from the suicide car bomb jackpot, the government let slip that some of their own got dinged up. Turning ideas into action, President Deni concocted a seven-member squad dubbed the Committee for Support and Care to nurture and rehabilitate the healing soldiers. This dream team brought together some top dogs—a Health Minister, Air Transport Czar, and Bosaso’s own Mayor—to spearhead the charge in catering to servicemen affected amidst the Golis Mountains combat ongoing. In a broader lens, the presence of ISIS in Puntland has stirred many a thought. While still lagging behind al-Shabaab in sheer numbers, ISIS is making quiet waves in Puntland, scratching at vulnerabilities. Their saga began back in 2015 when Abdulqadir Mumin splintered from al-Shabaab, pledging an oath to ISIS. Since then, they’ve carved a small notch in the Golis Mountains, infamous for covert eliminations and crafty IED setups. Strategically perched by the Gulf of Aden and too-close-for-comfort with the Red Sea, Puntland’s prime locale is both a blessing and a curse—vital for global seafaring routes yet a magnet for scheming militant opportunists who make hay smuggling and the like. It’s a quagmire amplified by global players running disparate numbers. At one point, Uncle Sam’s intel hinted at whispers between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and al-Shabaab about potential arms poke-ins, with whispers of encouragement from Iran to the Houthis scattered in between. Edited by: Ali Musa alimusa@axadletimes.com Axadle international–Monitoring
