Puntland Defence Forces continue to strike ISIS… foreign fighters arrested

Somalia’s “Puntland Defence Forces” continue to deliver heavy blows to ISIS networks entrenched in the rugged mountains of the country’s northeast.

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On Tuesday, the forces announced the arrest of an ISIS member during a military operation in the Toga Balde area of Bari Province, northeastern Somalia.

This came as part of the fourth phase of Operation “Hilak,” an ongoing military campaign targeting ISIS hideouts in the Al-Miskad mountains, regarded as one of the group’s main strongholds in Somalia’s Puntland State, according to official Somali media.

Sources also confirmed that Puntland forces arrested a Somali national during clashes with ISIS militants in the Toga Balde area yesterday, as part of their ongoing efforts to “cleanse the Al-Miskad mountains from the remnants of ISIS.”

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A shift in the terrorism map?

Observers argue that the arrest of foreign fighters in Puntland reflects a gradual shift in the terrorism landscape in the Horn of Africa, as extremist groups attempt to reposition themselves in mountainous and remote areas to escape military operations in central and southern Somalia.

Security officials warn that the presence of foreign elements within local groups threatens to turn Somalia into a new hub for cross-border fighters. They have called for stronger security and intelligence coordination among regional states to counter these growing threats.

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For months, Puntland Defence Forces—one of the state’s main security arms—have inflicted heavy losses on ISIS, including their most significant strike in April, when forty militants were killed.

ISIS-Somalia, a local branch of the global organization, was founded in 2015 by a faction that split from the Al-Shabaab terrorist movement.

Although ISIS-Somalia is smaller in number and less equipped than Al-Shabaab, it has maintained a foothold in parts of the northeast, particularly in the Golis and Al-Miskad mountains, where it has exploited the harsh terrain to carry out surprise attacks against local security forces.

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