US military bombs ISIS militants in Somalia's Puntland

BOSASO, Somalia - The US Africa Command bombed the ISIS militants in northern Somalia as part of the collective responsibility in the fight against the group, which has been under intense pressure to surrender in the eastern region of Bari, Puntland.

Since December 2024, the Puntland Defense Forces, along with local fighters, the US Africa Command, and the United Arab Emirates forces, have been pursuing the ISIS remnants in northern Somalia, liberating several strategic caves in the Cal-Miskaad mountains.

It is here in the Cal-Miskaad mountains that the militants were planning and executing attacks. But for seven months, most of these militants have been killed and others arrested as the military made significant advances in the terrain.

According to reports from the Somali officials, a new US airstrike against ISIS militants in Baallade Valley, southeast of Bosaso, on July 7 was initiated, targeting the militants within the commercial capital of Puntland state in Somalia.

Baallade Valley is one of the areas the militants are still present, but there is a concerted effort to reclaim most of the regions that are still under the control of ISIS terrorists within the region in northern Somalia.

"A successful precision airstrike conducted tonight at Al-Miskaad's Baalade Valley, carried out by US Africa Command with consistent and vital assistance, achieved its objective," said Brigadier General Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh.

"This partnership is now consistently delivering demonstrable outcomes in the removal of high-value targets, proving instrumental to the final stages of Operation Hilaac (Lightning) to root out Daesh."

The northeastern Somali state of Puntland has vowed to continue operations until the militants are routed. The operation is now in its seventh month. Puntland is considered the safest and most progressive state in Somalia.

American President Donald Trump personally announced a US airstrike against the IS-Somalia militants in February 2025, a rare action of solidarity, while confirming the death of a senior ISIS militant in the country. He pledged to continue helping Somali forces in their pursuit of stability.

GAROWE ONLINE