Earlier today, the Puntland Security Forces (PSF), the armed forces of Somalia’s northern Puntland region, announced thwarting a major assault on a PSF base. Unusually, the attack was not carried out by Shabaab, the most powerful militant group in the country, but by Shabaab’s rival, the Islamic State Somalia (ISS).
The large-scale operation marks a rare offensive for the relatively small Islamic State group, in contrast with Shabaab, which routinely carries out such assaults across much of Somalia. Though ultimately failing, the attempt still represents the growing strength and audacity of the Islamic State wing.
According to the PSF, Islamic State militants targeted one of its outposts near Dharjaale, just south of the Cal Miskaat Mountains, where Islamic State Somalia is based, with at least two suicide car bombings in the early morning hours. These bombings, which instantly killed at least four PSF troops, were followed by an assault team.
The tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of the operation closely mirrored those of Shabaab’s TTPs for such assaults, as the Al Qaeda branch often begins its base attacks with suicide car bombings to clear a path for its gunmen.
Following the entry of the assault team, Puntland troops reportedly engaged in firefights and hand-to-hand combat with the Islamic State’s men. At least one ISS militant then detonated his explosive device inside the base—though other reports indicate up to four ISS fighters may have detonated themselves during the battle.
In all, Puntland says its forces killed at least 10 ISS fighters, many of whom were foreign fighters from Ethiopia, Yemen, Syria, and further beyond. Videos from the scene also clearly depict non-Somalis among the ISS dead, while other videos confirm the use of explosive vests/belts among the jihadists. Puntland has not given a full rundown of its casualties as of the time of publishing.
A rare assault for Islamic State Somalia
Today’s attempted assault on the PSF base at Dharjaale is the first of its kind in many years and ISS’s first reported use of a suicide bombing since at least early 2023. While the group has periodically clashed with PSF over the last two years, these encounters have typically been defensive in nature—for instance, after the PSF raids ISS positions.
The fact that ISS would mount an offensive operation of this scale is notable for several reasons.
First, it is the group’s largest offensive action on Puntland state since ISS stormed and briefly laid siege to a hotel in Bosaso in early 2017. That raid happened just months after ISS briefly captured and occupied the port town of Qandala in late 2016. The jihadist group has mounted several significant operations more recently, particularly late last year and earlier this year, but these efforts targeted Shabaab’s men in the Puntland mountains, rather than Puntland itself. ISS has done relatively little against Puntland since 2017.
Second, this morning’s failed assault comes after ISS has spent the last few years recruiting more personnel, training its cadres, and consolidating its positions after ousting Shabaab from several of its previous northern strongholds. This author, along with researcher Lucas Webber, outlined this deadly transformation earlier this year for the Combating Terrorism Center’s Sentinel journal.
While ISS was previously estimated at a couple of hundred fighters just a couple of years ago, today it is believed to contain 600–700 people, many of whom are foreign fighters from across East and Northern Africa, Yemen, and the broader Middle East. Though this relatively small number is still dwarfed by Shabaab’s ranks, it still ultimately provides ISS more capacity to undertake operations like today’s than it previously had.
Third, today’s battle comes as Puntland is gearing up to mount its own large-scale offensive against both ISS and Shabaab by targeting their respective bases in Puntland’s mountain ranges. It is possible that ISS wanted to preempt such an offensive with its attack, or at least signal to Puntland that it would not be easy to oust the group from its mountain bases.
Though ISS is relatively small and not as powerful as its rival in Al Qaeda’s Shabaab, ISS’s real importance comes from its financing and logistical networks, as well as its leadership cadre.
Its leadership, led by Abdul Qadir Mu’min, is among the most influential within the Islamic State’s structure on the African continent—and even beyond, with Mu’min also serving as a senior leader within the Islamic State’s overall hierarchy. Acting as the head of the Islamic State’s Al Karrar regional office—a middle-management hub for eastern, central, and southern Africa—Mu’min coordinates much of the Islamic State’s activities in Africa.
Generating millions of dollars a year in extortion and illegal taxes, ISS also uses this money to fund Islamic State affiliates elsewhere, such as the Central Africa Province in the Congo, Mozambique Province, Yemen Province, and Khorasan Province, as well as Islamic State cells across southern Africa and inside Turkey. In addition, this money helps facilitate the movement of resources and personnel between several of these provinces and cells.
Thus, if Puntland’s upcoming offensive against ISS is successful, it will have far-reaching financial, logistical, and strategic implications for Islamic State operations across Africa and the world.
