Friday September 12, 2025
FILE — Fighters from ISIS-Somalia survey the rugged terrain of the Golis Mountains in Puntland. The militant group has used the remote range as a stronghold for training, shelter and staging attacks in northeastern Somalia.
Mogadishu (HOL) — U.S. Africa Command said it carried out an airstrike against ISIS-Somalia in Puntland’s Golis Mountains on Sept. 10, in coordination with Somalia’s federal government.
The strike marked the 76th U.S. strike in Somalia this year, the highest annual total on record.
AFRICOM described the target area as the Golis (also known as Al-Madow) range in northeastern Somalia, a rugged stronghold where the faction has used caves and steep terrain to shelter fighters and stage operations. The geography has made the area a recurring focus of air and partner-ground actions.
The disclosure came a day after the command announced a Sept. 9 strike against al-Shabaab in Lower Shabelle. The tempo of operations highlights a dual-front campaign: U.S. strikes are hitting al-Shabaab in southern Somalia while simultaneously backing Somali and Puntland forces against ISIS-Somalia in the northeast.
ISIS-Somalia emerged in 2015 after defectors split from al-Shabab and pledged loyalty to the Islamic State. U.S. counterterrorism profiles say the branch raises funds, recruits internationally and has plotted activity beyond Africa. Recent U.S. and UN-cited assessments indicate the Somali branch hosts a key ISIS finance office known as “Karrar,” and that Abdul Qadir Mumin, who has long been identified as the faction’s emir, may have risen to lead the global organization, though the group has not publicly confirmed his name.
The branch remains small compared with al-Shabab but has grown in manpower and reach. A Congressional Research Service brief updated this month assessed ISIS-Somalia at roughly 600 to 800 fighters, with more than half believed to be foreign nationals—an influx U.S. officials link to concerns about external plotting.
Financial and facilitation networks have also drawn U.S. action. The Treasury Department sanctioned ISIS-Somalia operatives in 2022 and 2023, describing the group as a regional funding hub that moves money, foreign fighters, supplies and ammunition across ISIS nodes in Africa.
Thursday’s disclosure fits a wider 2025 campaign. AFRICOM and open-source tallies show an elevated strike tempo this year, with 38 declared U.S. strikes on ISIS-Somalia and al-Shabab between Feb. 1 and June 10, followed by a two-week operation targeting ISIS-Somalia that the command said concluded on Aug. 23. Earlier releases flagged ISIS-Somalia strikes near Bossaso on June 15 and July 6, areas tied to the same mountain corridor.
Regional partners have pressed attacks on the ground. Puntland authorities said this year they seized positions and inflicted casualties in the Golis area during their own operations, while urging sustained international backing. Those claims could not be independently verified, but they reflect the partner-led approach the United States says it supports.
U.S. officials have pursued both leadership and network targets in northern Somalia in recent years.
AFRICOM provided no casualty figures from the Sept. 10 strike and said further details would be withheld to protect ongoing operations. AFRICOM stopped publishing casualty figures and civilian harm assessments earlier this year, a change officials linked to the Trump administration’s review of reporting practices. Rights groups and researchers say that has left an accountability gap, as the scope of civilian harm from this year’s record pace remains unclear.