ISIS

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State’s police chief says regional security forces have destroyed more than 100 Islamic State (ISIS) bases in the Cal-Miskaad mountains, marking what authorities call a decisive year for Operation Hilaac, the state’s ongoing counterterrorism campaign. General Mumin Abdi Shire, speaking Thursday on the first anniversary of the offensive, said the operation has eliminated key ISIS fighters and slashed the group’s military capability by nearly 85%. He said weapons caches, supply depots and…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State security forces have destroyed more than 100 Islamic State bases in the Cal-Miskaad mountains over the past year, sharply degrading the extremist group’s capabilities in northern Somalia, the region’s police chief said Thursday. Gen. Mumin Abdi Shire said the campaign, conducted under Operation Hilaac, has eliminated key ISIS fighters and reduced the group’s military capacity by nearly 85 percent. He said troops dismantled weapons caches, supply depots and facilities used to manufacture…

Puntland State deploys new forces to Al-Miskaad as campaign against ISIS-Somalia enters ‘closing phase’ BOSASO, Somalia — Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 Puntland State has deployed new military units to the Al-Miskaad mountain range in the Bari region as its yearlong campaign against the Islamic State group’s Somali branch moves into what officials describe as its closing phase. Regional authorities said Monday that hundreds of recently assigned soldiers were sent to the Baallade valley and surrounding areas to reinforce and…

BOSASO, Somalia — The U.S. Africa Command has sharply escalated airstrikes against ISIS-Somalia in the country’s northeast this year, conducting 59 strikes on Islamic State-aligned targets in Puntland State’s Bari region as part of a broader campaign that has reached 101 airstrikes across Somalia in 2025, compared with just 10 in all of 2024, according to statements shared with Fox News Digital. 101 U.S. airstrikes in Somalia so far this year, targeting ISIS-Somalia and al-Shabab 59 strikes specifically against…

BOSASO, Somalia — U.S. special operations forces, working with Puntland State’s Counter-Terrorism Forces, mounted a helicopter-borne raid on an Islamic State enclave in the Cal-Miskaad mountains on Tuesday, killing senior leaders and capturing fighters, according to U.S. Africa Command and Puntland State officials. The joint operation struck targets in Baallade Valley, with troops assaulting the HabarBajuuke cave complex after an exchange of fire with militants from IS-Somalia, officials said. U.S. Africa Command said the…

US Special Forces and Puntland State counterterrorism units on Wednesday carried out a coordinated raid on an ISIS hideout in Somalia’s Balade Valley, unleashing hours of gunfire and precision drone strikes that killed a senior commander and several militants, according to security sources. The joint operation inserted dozens of US troops by MH-60 helicopters and used MQ-9 Reaper drones to hit targets across the Habarbakuuje and Mareero areas of the valley, where intelligence indicated a fortified base was housing 10 to 15…

BOSASO, Somalia — At least five Islamic State militants were killed in U.S.-supported airstrikes in northern Somalia’s Puntland State region, local military officials said, as counterterrorism operations intensify in the Cal-Miskaad mountains and move into what authorities describe as their final phase. The strikes hit targets Saturday in the Barakalah area of Baallade Valley, a rugged corridor in the Cal-Miskaad range where Puntland State security forces have been battling ISIS cells for months. The fatalities were…

BOSASO, Somalia — Puntland State’s counterterrorism forces say an airstrike carried out with international partners killed at least five fighters from the Islamic State group (ISIS) as they fled through the Cal-Miskaad Mountains, intensifying a sweeping operation in northern Somalia. Puntland State officials say the strike hit the Barakalash area of the Baalade Valley. At least five ISIS militants were killed, according to the Puntland State Counter-Terrorism Forces. Further details are expected from U.S. Africa…

Somalia: Islamic State deploys suicide attackers in Puntland State as offensive intensifies BOSASO, Somalia — Islamic State militants in Somalia launched suicide attackers against a Puntland State security position in the Miiraale valley on Saturday, prompting a fierce clash that left at least seven people dead as regional forces push deeper into militant strongholds in the Cal-Miskaad mountains. Assault and casualties Puntland State authorities said their forces repelled the attack and killed four militants at the scene.…

Somalia says E-Visa has choked ISIS travel pipeline Somalia’s defense minister says a new national E-Visa system has sharply curtailed the movement of ISIS fighters into the country’s northeast, where the group has long maintained a foothold in the Calmiskaad mountains. Ahmed Moallin Fiqi said that since the digital visa rollout, no foreign ISIS members have entered Somalia to join militants in the remote range. The statement underscores Mogadishu’s bid to tighten border controls after years of porosity exploited by…