Friday March 28, 2025
Bosaso (HOL) – Puntland security forces have uncovered a cache of weapons, food supplies, and the bodies of ISIS militants at a strategic base targeted by a U.S. airstrike earlier this week in northern Somalia.
Security officials said the base, located near the Miraale River close to Bosaso, was one of the last remaining strongholds of ISIS in Puntland.
Among the items recovered were 32 international passports believed to belong to ISIS fighters, as well as drones and fortified bunkers that had made previous ground operations by Puntland forces difficult.
The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that the airstrike, carried out on March 25 in coordination with the Somali government, killed several ISIS-Somalia operatives in the Golis Mountains region. The command reported no civilian casualties from the operation.
“This was one of the most fortified bases ISIS operated from. We were never able to penetrate it until now,” a Puntland security official said. “What we’ve found confirms the international nature of the group’s operations here.”
ISIS-Somalia, formed by former Al-Shabaab defectors, has grown in strength since its emergence in 2015 and now reportedly has up to 1,000 fighters, up from about 300 in 2019. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Nations, and the Somali federal government.