Puntland State forces detain Turkish national in anti-ISIS sweep in Bari
BOSASO, Somalia — Puntland State security forces said Wednesday they captured a Turkish national during a counterterrorism operation in the rugged Baalade valley of the Bari region, part of a sustained campaign to flush Islamic State-linked militants from the Cal‑Miskaad mountains.
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Authorities identified the detainee as Feyzul Hashim Suleyman. He is the second Turkish citizen to be seized by Puntland State forces in recent weeks; another Turkish national, Hassan Ataar, was detained in June under similar circumstances, regional officials said.
Operation Hilaac: steady pressure on a remote front
The arrest came amid the fourth phase of “Operation Hilaac,” a multiweek push by Puntland State’s military to dismantle ISIS strongholds in northern Somalia. Troops said they engaged in heavy clashes with militants in the Baalade valley before taking Suleyman into custody, and also detained a Somali combatant in the same operation.
“These fighters initially joined ISIS in Syria before being transferred to Somalia’s Cal‑Miskaad region,” said Gen. Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, a senior Puntland State military official, who added that investigations are ongoing into possible links with international smuggling and terror networks, including alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
Two suspects remain at large
Puntland State security sources named two other suspects — Emre Kemal Yılmaz and Aylin Derya Kaya — as still evading capture and believed to be hiding in the mountainous terrain. Local commanders said the area’s steep ravines and narrow passes have long provided sanctuary for militant cells and complicated efforts to bring them to heel.
Gen. Sheikh suggested that some of the detained individuals were former members of Turkey’s armed forces and may trace their radicalization back to foreign battlefields. He said authorities are probing whether those networks are connected to broader transnational smuggling or recruitment routes.
Why foreigners turn up in Somalia’s insurgent ranks
Somalia’s ISIS branch — distinct from but often overshadowed by the larger al‑Shabaab insurgency — has sought to increase its profile by recruiting foreign fighters and showcasing brutal attacks. Security experts say the group’s presence in Cal‑Miskaad is small compared with al‑Shabaab but strategically worrying because it signals ongoing international movement of hardened militants.
“What we’re seeing is part of a wider trend: battle-hardened fighters moving between conflict zones, seeking ungoverned spaces where they can regroup,” said a regional security analyst who was not authorized to speak on the record. “It complicates counterterrorism responses because the threat is no longer confined by national borders.”
The arrests highlight the porous nature of conflict-era migration: fighters who once took part in Syria’s brutal campaigns have, according to Puntland State officials, found safe havens thousands of kilometres away in Somalia’s remote north. That mobility has raised alarm bells in capitals from Ankara to Mogadishu and among international counterterrorism partners.
Local and global implications
Puntland State is a semiautonomous region of northeastern Somalia, with its capital at Garowe and a vital port in Bosaso. For years, it has maintained a relatively stable security apparatus compared with other parts of Somalia, but insurgents have occasionally exploited its rugged hinterlands.
Beyond immediate tactical gains, officials say the detentions could offer leads into wider networks that move fighters, weapons and cash. Investigators are reportedly looking into smuggling corridors and potential financial backers; Gen. Sheikh referenced alleged links to international groups but did not provide details.
International cooperation remains crucial. Somali and Puntland State forces frequently call for enhanced intelligence sharing with regional and Western partners, noting that the transnational character of the threat demands coordinated tracking of travel, finances and logistics. The detention of foreign nationals underscores that message.
Questions for the international community
- How effectively can governments trace and disrupt the networks that move fighters between Syria, Turkey and the Horn of Africa?
- What responsibilities do home countries have for citizens detained abroad who may be accused of terrorism?
- Does the presence of foreign militants in Somalia require a recalibration of aid and security partnerships to focus more on border control and financial interdiction?
Answers will shape policy in the months ahead as Somalia’s fragile security picture contends with returning foreign fighters, persistent local insurgencies and the geopolitical tug of war in the wider Red Sea and Gulf of Aden corridor.
What comes next
Puntland State officials say Operation Hilaac will continue. For now, Suleyman is in custody while investigations proceed. The two other named suspects remain at large, and Puntland State forces say they will press the offensive in Cal‑Miskaad in hopes of disrupting the militants’ foothold.
For residents of Bosaso and the surrounding highlands, the operations are a reminder of how global conflicts reverberate in remote communities: refugees and fighters follow the same routes as traders and fishermen, turning local valleys and mountains into the latest nodes of a global security problem.
As authorities pursue leads and seek international help, the case raises broader questions about how to manage and rehabilitate foreign fighters, how to prevent further radicalization in transit hubs, and how to shield vulnerable communities that bear the immediate costs of fighting far beyond their borders.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
