Islamic State militants launched an overnight assault on military bases in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland state, using suicide car and motorbike bombs. However, government forces successfully repelled the attack, with airstrikes killing 70 militants, according to a military official on Tuesday.
Puntland, which initiated a large-scale offensive against both Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab in December, has since reported killing dozens of foreign fighters, capturing several IS bases, and forcing a senior commander to surrender.
“Puntland’s anti-terrorism forces were prepared and stopped the suicide bombers—who were on foot, motorbikes, and in vehicles—by shooting them dead,” said Mohamud Fadhigo, a Puntland military spokesperson.
The United Arab Emirates, along with other Gulf nations, has been assisting in the training of Somalia’s armed forces in recent years.
“With the assistance of UAE airstrikes, we managed to defeat the IS fighters and kill about 70 militants,” Fadhigo added.
While Puntland forces also incurred casualties in the assault, Fadhigo declined to specify the number.
The Islamic State’s Somali faction has grown increasingly significant within the global network of the group in recent years. It was also the target of U.S. airstrikes earlier this month.
Somalia’s state news agency confirmed that security forces successfully repelled attacks on military positions in the Hagaaro and Togo-Jecel areas of Puntland’s Cal Miskaad mountains.
Islamic State’s presence in Somalia, with an estimated 700 to 1,500 fighters, has been expanding, bolstered by foreign recruits and rising revenues. Despite this, the group remains smaller than al Shabaab, which controls significant portions of southern and central Somalia.
