UAE Airstrikes Hit ISIS in Somalia's Puntland, Killing Dozens of Militants

BOSASO, Somalia - More than a dozen members of the Islamic State group, including senior figures, were killed in a coordinated assault by UAE airstrikes in Somalia's Puntland region, local military sources reported Sunday.

The initial strike hit the Xankookib caves near Dhasan, obliterating an ISIS weapons stockpile and multiple vehicles, resulting in several militant deaths, the Puntland Counterterrorism Unit confirmed. This operation was executed in cooperation with Puntland's security forces by the United Arab Emirates.

A subsequent attack targeted ISIS fighters in the Darar-Madoobe area of the Calmiskaad mountains, where additional transport vehicles and weapons were destroyed.

This series of strikes follows US airstrikes earlier this month on February 1, which took out 14 ISIS operatives, among them Ahmed Maeleninine, known for his roles in recruitment, financing, and planning attacks abroad.

The airstrikes underscore the persistent campaign against ISIS in Puntland, with the UAE and U.S. providing air support to local forces maintaining their efforts to dismantle the group's presence in the area.

GAROWE ONLINE