'We will go wherever they hide': Rooting out IS in Somalia

## Summary
'We will go wherever they hide': Rooting out IS in Somalia 1 hour ago Share Save Sahnun Ahmed , BBC News Somali and Scarlett Barter , BBC World Service Share Save BBC/Amensisa Ifa Soldiers are fighting IS in Somalia after militants established bases in remote mountain areas In Somalia's remote al-Miskad mountains, a group of soldiers huddles around a small hand-held screen, tracking Islamic State group fighters on a drone feed. BBC/Amensisa Ifa Puntland forces took these weapons and IS flag from the group in a battle in February 2025 Now, on a local level, IS's "ability to stage attacks in Somalia has been degraded" and it "does not pose a significant threat to Puntland or Somalia today", says Tricia Bacon, director of the Policy Anti-Terrorism Hub at American University in Washington DC. The Puntland Forces managed to push IS-Somalia out of Bosaso at the start of 2025, but the militant group still controlled villages and small towns in the nearby al-Miskad mountains. BBC/Amensisa Ifa Mahad Jama says that IS kidnapped and killed his niece two years ago One of those was Dardar, home to 600 people.

## Article Content
'We will go wherever they hide': Rooting out IS in Somalia
1 hour ago
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Sahnun Ahmed
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BBC News Somali
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BBC/Amensisa Ifa
Soldiers are fighting IS in Somalia after militants established bases in remote mountain areas
In Somalia's remote al-Miskad mountains, a group of soldiers huddles around a small hand-held screen, tracking Islamic State group fighters on a drone feed.
A figure appears in the picture, moving through a valley. "He has been to fetch water for his friends," says the drone operator. "He is running and carrying something on his back," adds another soldier.
The man on the screen is near a cave, which the army believes is a hideout for 50 to 60 IS fighters.
The Puntland Defence Forces have about 500 soldiers stationed at this base in the north-east of Somalia. Ten years ago the barren and inhospitable landscape was home to only a few nomadic communities, but that changed when IS established a foothold here, shifting its focus to Africa as its fighters were driven out of their strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
By April 2025, Gen Michael Langley, who was then the commander of United States Africa Command (Africom), told the US Congress that "ISIS controls their global network from Somalia".
And in recent years, the US has supported Somalia's fight against IS, repeatedly bombing insurgents hiding in Somali caves – in 2025 the Pentagon carried out 60 attacks on IS-Somalia.
BBC/Amensisa Ifa
Puntland forces took these weapons and IS flag from the group in a battle in February 2025
Now, on a local level, IS's "ability to stage attacks in Somalia has been degraded" and it "does not pose a significant threat to Puntland or Somalia today", says Tricia Bacon, director of the Policy Anti-Terrorism Hub at American University in Washington DC.
However, IS-Somalia still "plays a critical role in terms of providing resources, support, and facilitation for other Islamic State affiliates, both in Africa and further afield, like Afghanistan", she explains.
IS-Somalia, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in the north-east of the country, was established by a Somali national, Abdulqadir Mumin. He once lived in Sweden and the UK and held British citizenship.
In 2015 he appeared alongside 17 men in a video pledging allegiance to IS.
Mumin had previously been a member of the militant group al-Shabab, which has been battling the government for two decades and still controls large parts of southern Somalia.
IS-Somalia forced al-Shabab out of Puntland's al-Miskad mountains, bringing in foreign recruits and gradually becoming a training and financial hub for IS's wider network.
The group had influence in the port city of Bosaso and a US treasury report stated that in 2022 IS-Somalia "raised $2m [£1.5m] from extortion payments from local businesses, imports, livestock, and agriculture".
The Puntland Forces managed to push IS-Somalia out of Bosaso at the start of 2025, but the militant group still controlled villages and small towns in the nearby al-Miskad mountains.
BBC/Amensisa Ifa
Mahad Jama says that IS kidnapped and killed his niece two years ago
One of those was Dardar, home to 600 people.
With IS came brutality and fear.
People living here say strict rules were written on a blackboard in a nearby village prohibiting men and women from mixing in public, forbidding men from wearing long trousers below their ankles or having stylish haircuts. Women had to wear a specific type of hijab with gloves and socks to cover their hands and ankles, and music was not allowed.
Its harsh regime and ideology left deep scars.
"Life became very difficult," says Said Mohamud Ibrahim, the local imam, sitting on the floor of his mosque. "People were afraid. Some were kidnapped and are still missing."
While some people fled the village, he stayed, but says IS kicked him out of the mosque. "They said: 'We are the imam now. And if you do not follow our instructions and leave the mosque right now, you will get what you deserve.'
"I understood that to mean they would either behead me or kidnap me."
Among the worshippers in the mosque is Mahad Jama. Two years ago his niece, Shukri, was kidnapped and killed by IS fighters.
"She was a good girl, a very loving daughter, she cared for her mother. She was a practising Muslim," he says, lowering his head beneath his black and white scarf to shield himself from the midday sun.
Shukri was pregnant when she was killed. She left behind two children and a sick mother.
"You can't imagine what it feels like to lose your niece… and not even know why she was killed. When you receive news of a child's death, it is almost impossible to accept," Jama adds.
Shukri had a seven-year old son called Said. The little boy was deaf and rarely left his mother's side. The night IS came to their home he was with her. He was killed too.
After many months of fighting, the village was taken by the Puntland Defence Force in February 2025. The Americans had helpe

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- BBC/Amensisa Ifa Puntland forces took these weapons and IS flag from the group in a battle in February 2025 Now, on a local level, IS's "ability to stage attacks in Somalia has been degraded" and it "does not pose a significant threat to Puntland or Somalia today", says Tricia Bacon, director of the Policy Anti-Terrorism Hub at American University in Washington DC.
- The man who had been spotted running through the valley earlier is nowhere to be seen and, looking down from the mountain, it is impossible to know how effective the assault has been.

### Areas for Consideration
- BBC/Amensisa Ifa Puntland forces took these weapons and IS flag from the group in a battle in February 2025 Now, on a local level, IS's "ability to stage attacks in Somalia has been degraded" and it "does not pose a significant threat to Puntland or Somalia today", says Tricia Bacon, director of the Policy Anti-Terrorism Hub at American University in Washington DC.
- Its harsh regime and ideology left deep scars. "Life became very difficult," says Said Mohamud Ibrahim, the local imam, sitting on the floor of his mosque. "People were afraid.

### Implications
- 'We will go wherever they hide': Rooting out IS in Somalia 1 hour ago Share Save Sahnun Ahmed , BBC News Somali and Scarlett Barter , BBC World Service Share Save BBC/Amensisa Ifa Soldiers are fighting IS in Somalia after militants established bases in remote mountain areas In Somalia's remote al-Miskad mountains, a group of soldiers huddles around a small hand-held screen, tracking Islamic State group fighters on a drone feed.
- BBC/Amensisa Ifa Puntland forces took these weapons and IS flag from the group in a battle in February 2025 Now, on a local level, IS's "ability to stage attacks in Somalia has been degraded" and it "does not pose a significant threat to Puntland or Somalia today", says Tricia Bacon, director of the Policy Anti-Terrorism Hub at American University in Washington DC.
- The group had influence in the port city of Bosaso and a US treasury report stated that in 2022 IS-Somalia "raised $2m [£1.5m] from extortion payments from local businesses, imports, livestock, and agriculture".
- And if you do not follow our instructions and leave the mosque right now, you will get what you deserve.' "I understood that to mean they would either behead me or kidnap me." Among the worshippers in the mosque is Mahad Jama.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers somalia, puntland, bbc topics. Notable strengths include discussion of somalia. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1600.