Puntland offensive deals blow to Islamic State in Somalia

By Feisal Omar

BALIDHIDIN, Somalia (Reuters) - Forces from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region have captured swathes of territory from Islamic State during a weeks-long offensive they hope will draw increased international support, according to officials and Reuters reporters.

The advances come against an IS faction that has gained in importance and was the target last week of the first air strikes of U.S. President Donald Trump's new administration.

Before those strikes, Reuters reporters who gained rare access to the village of Balidhidin, which IS controlled for a decade, saw Puntland security forces patrolling and residents circulating on foot near the carcasses of army trucks destroyed in recent fighting.

The village is in the middle of the northern Golis Mountains, which are the stronghold of IS in Somalia and were also the site of the U.S. strikes. Villagers said security forces had captured other areas too.

Many in Balidhidin had fled the harsh rule of the militants, especially after they killed the district commissioner in 2021. They took refuge in nearby villages and the port city of Bosaso.

"There was a lot of fear. We were threatened," said Saido Abdirahman, who had just returned to Balidhidin. "Although we were mothers who were indoors, there was fear which made people flee."

IS in Somalia - with an estimated 700 to 1,500 fighters in Puntland's mountains - is much smaller than al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which controls large parts of southern and central Somalia. But it has become an increasingly important part of its parent organisation's worldwide network in recent years, analysts say.

It has been aided, officials and analysts say, by an influx of foreign fighters from the Middle East and other African countries and revenues earned by extorting local businesses.

Some media outlets reported last year that its head, Abdulqadir Mumin, had become IS's global leader, citing U.S. officials. IS has not confirmed the move.

CALL FOR SUPPORT

The U.S. military has carried out periodic air strikes against the group for years and also helped train Puntland's security forces.

Mohammed Aided, Puntland's information minister, told Reuters that the region's security forces had captured 250 square kilometres, including 50 bases, from IS since Dec. 31 in the biggest offensive against the group in years.

Puntland's military spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the security forces had killed at least 85 IS militants in battles over the past two days, while 17 soldiers also died.

Aided said there was no coordination on the operations with the federal government in Mogadishu, which Puntland's government stopped recognising altogether last year, and called for more foreign support.

"This is an international war on terror. We request the international community to supply with us experts, hardware, anti-mines, and anti-drone facilities that can jam drones of terrorists. It is a difficult war," Aided said.

Matt Bryden, a Somalia analyst and co-founder of the Sahan Research think tank, said the Trump administration, some of whose members have publicly derided the Mogadishu government as weak, might look to boost direct security cooperation with local authorities like Puntland to fight IS and al Shabaab.

"There's already a recognition that the federal government of Somalia is no longer really a credible partner in fighting against armed extremist groups," he said.

Somalia's presidency and information ministry and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Feisal Omar in Balidhidin and Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu; Writing by Giulia Paravicini; Editing by Aaron Ross and Aidan Lewis)