Wednesday August 20, 2025
Somali soldiers from Puntland pose in the Cal Miskaad Mountains after an offensive against Islamic State militants. Regional officials say nearly 700 foreign fighters have been killed since the campaign began late last year. SUPPLIED
Bosaso (HOL) — Puntland authorities said Wednesday that nearly 700 foreign fighters have been killed in an ongoing offensive against Islamic State militants in the Al Miskaad Mountains, one of the group’s main strongholds in northeastern Somalia.
The campaign, launched late last year in the Bari region, has reduced ISIS’s presence in the area by an estimated 70 percent, officials said. Only five Somali fighters were reported killed in the operations.
Mohamed Abdirahman Dhaban’ad, political adviser to the Puntland president, disclosed the figures in an interview with Sky News, which has been reporting from inside the mountains. He displayed passports seized from militants originating from more than 20 countries, including nations in Europe, the United States, Africa, and Asia.
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Recovered phones and SIM cards offered a glimpse into the lives of ISIS fighters who had embedded themselves in caves across the mountain range. Sky News reporters documented evidence of militants cooking, raising families, and storing weapons in hideouts where they also produced explosives and makeshift rockets. Commanders said the caves contained bomb-making facilities, medical equipment, and even items such as children’s toys and exercise gear, showing militants were preparing for a long-term presence.Dhaban’ad said many foreigners entered Somalia illegally or disguised themselves as refugees. Some, he noted, were Ethiopians who crossed the border claiming asylum before joining ISIS, while others arrived from Yemen aboard smuggling boats without travel documents.
Puntland military officials also told Sky News that seized digital wallets and crypto transactions revealed ISIS Somalia was moving large sums of money to finance attacks abroad, including in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique. U.S. officials believe the Somali branch has become one of the largest global funders of ISIS operations.
Brigadier General Adan Abdi Hasa, Puntland’s army chief, warned that the threat is global, not local. He called for greater international support — particularly from Britain, citing close ties and the Somali diaspora there. “We would like to see UK assets on the ground helping us in this campaign,” he said.
The offensive has illustrated both the resilience of ISIS and the difficulties facing Puntland’s forces. Soldiers navigate treacherous terrain on foot with deminers clearing improvised explosive devices, and casualties are regularly evacuated from makeshift bases by helicopter.
ISIS established a foothold in Somalia in 2015, carving out hideouts in the Cal Miskaad Mountains and extorting businesses in Bosaso, a key port city. Its leader, Abdul Qadir Mumin, a former British citizen born in Puntland, is believed to be behind the group’s global financing network and has repeatedly evaded capture despite U.S. airstrikes and assasination attempts.