ADF STAFF
Security forces in the Puntland region of Somalia recently destroyed several operating bases for Islamic State (IS-Somalia) in the Cal Miskaad Mountains at the country’s northern tip.
The mountains have become a haven for IS-Somalia and a magnet for foreign fighters moving into Somalia both from neighboring African countries and from the Middle East across the Gulf of Aden. Security forces found a Saudi passport among the items captured in the raid, according to the Somalia National News Agency.
The attacks in the Cal Miskaad region were part of a broader strategy by Puntland authorities to enlist the region’s ethnic clans in the fight against IS-Somalia. Authorities have reached out specifically to clans living near the Cal Miskaad Mountains for help.
“The fight cannot be won by security forces alone,” Puntland’s First Deputy Speaker Mohamed Bari Shire said in a statement. “We need the courage and cooperation of the people to secure our communities.”
IS-Somalia has been active in Puntland since 2015, when a group of al-Shabaab fighters broke off and switched allegiance to form al-Qaida to the Islamic State group. In the years since, IS-Somalia has engaged in assassinations and bombings in Puntland.
Bari is leading the campaign to rein in IS-Somalia after the terrorist group attacked a Puntland counter-terrorism forces base in Dharjaale on December 31.
The 4 a.m. attack included two suicide-bomb vehicles and four fighters wearing suicide-bomb vests. More than 20 Soldiers died in the fighting before security forces successfully repelled the attack. A dozen terrorists died.
In a statement the next day, IS-Somalia claimed the 12 terrorists who died came from seven countries: Algeria, Ethiopia, Libya, Morocco, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Yemen. The increasingly international makeup of IS-Somalia raises the risk that the group will promote attacks beyond Puntland, according to analyst Liam Kerr with the Institute for the Study of War.
Puntland’s location and rugged landscape make it a key battleground for IS-Somalia, which has boosted its ranks with foreign fighters and extortion revenue, according to experts. Over the past year, IS-Somalia largely has taken control of the Cal Miskaad region, a fact that Somali authorities confirmed to The Somali Digest in April 2024. According to The Somali Digest, the Puntland government maintains authority over the scattered communities and roadways in the thinly populated region. Both al-Shabaab and IS-Somalia infiltrated the region on foot to avoid security forces.
Puntland authorities believe that IS-Somalia consists of 200 to 300 fighters. The bulk of the fighters come from neighboring Ethiopia with fighters from other countries making up the rest.
By enlisting Puntland’s clans in the pursuit of IS-Somalia fighters, authorities may avoid the mistakes that let the Dharjaale-bound suicide bombers pass through several communities between Cal Miskaad and the military base without triggering a warning.
Puntland authorities see that event as an important failure of their intelligence system. While local residents are intimidated by IS-Somalia fighters, Puntland leaders see those same residents as a key component in tracking the terrorists’ movements across the region’s vast, open spaces.
Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni recently announced Operation Hillaac, a large-scale counterterrorism campaign to eradicate militant hideouts in Puntland’s mountainous terrain.
The operation is entirely planned and executed by Puntland authorities. It involves the Puntland Defense Forces, the Puntland Maritime Police Force and the Counter-Terrorism Police.
“This is a fight for the survival and stability of Puntland and Somalia,” Deni said in a statement.
