US air strikes in Puntland deal blow to Daesh in Somalia

Forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region have captured swathes of territory from Daesh during a weeks-long offensive they hope will draw increased international support, according to officials and Reuters reporters.

The advances come against a Daesh faction that has gained in importance and was the target last week of the first air strikes of US President Donald Trump’s new administration.

Before those strikes, Reuters reporters who gained rare access to the village of Balidhidin, which Daesh controlled for a decade, saw Puntland security forces patrolling and residents circulating on foot near the carcasses of army trucks destroyed in recent fighting.

The village is in the middle of the northern Golis Mountains, which are the stronghold of Daesh in Somalia and were also the site of the US strikes. Villagers said security forces had captured other areas too.

Many in Balidhidin had fled the harsh rule of the militants, especially after they killed the district commissioner in 2021. They took refuge in nearby villages and the port city of Bosaso.

“There was a lot of fear. We were threatened,” said Saido Abdirahman, who had just returned to Balidhidin. “Although we were mothers who were indoors, there was fear which made people flee.”

Daesh in Somalia – with an estimated 700 to 1,500 fighters in Puntland’s mountains – is much smaller than Al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which controls large parts of southern and central Somalia. But it has become an increasingly important part of its parent organisation’s worldwide network in recent years, analysts say.

It has been aided, officials and analysts say, by an influx of foreign fighters from the Middle East and other African countries and revenues earned by extorting local businesses.

Citing US officials, some media outlets reported last year that its head, Abdulqadir Mumin, had become Daesh’s global leader. Daesh has not confirmed the move.

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Call for support

The US military has carried out periodic air strikes against the group for years and also helped train Puntland’s security forces.

Mohammed Aided, Puntland’s information minister, said that the region’s security forces had captured 250 square kilometres, including 50 bases, from Daesh since 31 December in the biggest offensive against the group in years.

Puntland’s military spokesperson said yesterday that the security forces had killed at least 85 Daesh militants in battles over the past two days, along with 17 soldiers.

Aided said there was no coordination on the operations with the federal government in Mogadishu, which Puntland’s government stopped recognising altogether last year, and called for more foreign support.

“This is an international war on terror. We request the international community to supply us with experts, hardware, anti-mines, and anti-drone facilities that can jam drones of terrorists. It is a difficult war,” Aided said.

Matt Bryden, a Somalia analyst and co-founder of the Sahan Research think tank, said the Trump administration, some of whose members have publicly derided the Mogadishu government as weak, might look to boost direct security cooperation with local authorities like Puntland to fight Daesh and Al-Shabaab.

“There’s already a recognition that the federal government of Somalia is no longer really a credible partner in fighting against armed extremist groups,” he said.

In response to written questions, Information Minister Daud Aweis said the Somali federal government appreciates the support of international partners and “maintains ongoing security engagements with relevant stakeholders, including Puntland, to ensure the effectiveness of counterterrorism operations.”

“Strengthening Somalia’s federal institutions and ensuring a cohesive national strategy remain critical for sustainable security and stability,” he said.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.