Security forces reported Wednesday that they had killed dozens of fighters associated with the Islamic State group (IS) in a fierce battle in the mountains of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland area.
It was the most recent of a series of conflicts that have occurred since Puntland authorities, occasionally supported by US soldiers, began an offensive against militias with ties to IS in December.
Military officials reported that after a day of action, Puntland forces were still destroying heavily armed IS-affiliated fighters who launched a two-pronged attack on one of their locations in the Cal Miskaad highlands.
At a press conference, Puntland army spokesman Mohamud Faadhigo stated, “The enemy was defeated in both directions,” adding that local forces believed they had killed as many as 65 of the attackers in the onslaught.”
The fighting, he added, was “not over yet” and that it was believed that Puntland soldiers had killed more fighters who were sheltering in caves.
On the phone, another officer, Abdikadir Farah, informed AFP that about 20 Puntland soldiers had been slain.
Another officer, who did not want to be identified, told AFP that two assailants drove a car full of explosives into an army base.
He called the combat “very heavy” but said the attack on the base was finally “foiled.”
Several combatants with explosive vests, he claimed, detonated themselves “and inflicted some of the casualties on the army.”
In 2019, IS was routed in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq by US-backed forces. Compared to the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab group, it is comparatively less prevalent in Somalia; yet, analysts have cautioned about the increasing IS-related activity.
Against IS, the Puntland Defence Forces began a series of operations in December.
The American military has carried out airstrikes on top IS leaders in the area, according to statements made by US President Donald Trump earlier this month.
“Key figures” in IS were killed in those attacks in the Golis highlands, according to the regional government of Puntland.
