How US forces raided ISIS-Somalia hideout in Puntland's Al-Miskaad Mountains 

BOSASO, Somalia - In a pre-dawn operation executed by the US Africa Command and the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Forces (PCTF), the team managed to kill at least five ISIS militants in one of the most unique air and ground operations overseen by the US military in Somalia.

The Tuesday’s pre-dawn assault was carried out in the ISIS militants' hideout in Baallade Valley, where the US Africa Command and the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Forces have been carrying out operations, which have entered the fourth phase.

According to reports, more than 100 American operators arrived by MH-60 helicopters with MQ-9 Reapers overhead, striking cave positions held by about 10 to 15 ISIS fighters in the Bakuuje and Mareero areas of the Cal Miskaad range.

PCTF pushed in with roughly 200 troops after several days of U.S. airstrikes that had already killed multiple militants. The militants have been using the caves to hide from the operations conducted by the military, at times using women and children as shields.

The raid triggered two to four hours of close-quarters clashes inside fortified caves, including engagements with foreign fighters from Syria, Turkey, and Ethiopia. By sunrise, U.S. and PCTF forces had withdrawn with no reported American casualties.

Early results indicate a senior ISIS-Somalia commander and several aides were killed, along with a total of 5 to 10 terrorists. Forces also destroyed weapons caches and equipment used for gold-mining operations that funded the group.

Puntland’s leadership says its Operation Hilaac now controls almost all of the Cal Miskaad mountains and aims to eliminate ISIS-Somalia by December 2025. The ISIS group has been under the leadership of Abdulkadir Mumin and his terrorists.

Last year, the US military claimed he might have been killed in one of the airstrikes, but there was no evidence to back the claims. President Donald Trump had pledged to assist the local troops in defeating the group, which is largely limited to the Bari region.

Besides the US Africa Command, the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Forces are getting aerial support from the United Arab Emirates forces. The full-scale military operation was started in December 2024, and so far, it has yielded significant success.

GAROWE ONLINE