ISIS leaders captured in Somalia's Puntland

BOSSASO, Somalia - Security forces in Puntland state have arrested a number of leaders association with the ISIS group, senior officials have confirmed, in the latest wave of operations targeting terrorists in the country, who have been wreaking havoc in the Horn of Africa nation.

According to reports, the militants were arrested in Amano within Bulidhidin District in Bari region, where they are believed to have been planning wave of attacks against security forces and innocent civilians. ISIS militants are predominantly in Puntland state.

Puntland Police Command said one of the arrested individual was Mohamed Ibrahim Daha, a Sudanese national who has been coordinate attacks in the country. Authorities are yet to identify another foreign national who is believed to be having roots in Syria.

The number of arrested individuals is also yet to be established but police have been carrying out operations against the militants in recent weeks. Early this year, police killed one Abu Albara Al Amani, a resident of Ethiopia who had been training IS militants in Somalia.

Daesh militants who are domiciled in Puntland were pushed out of other parts of Somalia by the rival Al-Shabaab group, which is predominant across Somalia and whose capability is said to be lethal. Al-Shabaab militants are also under onslaught from security forces who have managed to push them out of strategic positions.

Multiple businesses in Bossaso city were forced to close due to threats from the ISIS terrorist group while political intrigue unfolds at the state level. [Read here a report].

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has insisted on his unrelenting effort to wipe out terror groups in Somalia and so far, the support from members of the international community has been overwhelming. The US Africa Command and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia have been instrumental in the overall strategy.

In Puntland, regional forces have also been helpful in the fight against both Al-Shabaab and ISIS, helping the state to be one of the most stable region in the federal republic of Somalia. Somalia has been fighting instability for the last three decades.

GAROWE ONLINE