{"id":52807,"date":"2025-02-02T13:15:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T13:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/us-airstrikes-in-somalia-killed-key-isil-figures-says-regional-government\/"},"modified":"2025-02-02T13:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T13:12:22","slug":"us-airstrikes-in-somalia-killed-key-isil-figures-says-regional-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/us-airstrikes-in-somalia-killed-key-isil-figures-says-regional-government\/","title":{"rendered":"US airstrikes in Somalia killed \u2018key\u2019 ISIL figures, says regional government"},"content":{"rendered":"

United States President Donald Trump announced the military action late Saturday, stating that he had ordered “precision military air strikes on a senior ISIL attack planner and other terrorists” in Somalia. <\/p>\n

Trump said the operation “destroyed the caves they live in and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.” Trump, who assumed office barely a month ago for a second non-consecutive term, also took a swipe at his predecessor, Joe Biden, accusing him of delaying action against the ISIL operative. <\/p>\n

The strikes targeted ISIL strongholds in northern Somalia, where Puntland Security Forces (PSF) have been conducting counterterrorism operations since December. The mountainous terrain has served as a refuge for the group, which, while smaller than the dominant al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, has been increasing its activities in the region. <\/p>\n

“Recent air strikes have led to the neutralization of key figures within ISIS, marking a significant advancement as we progress into the second phase of our operation,” the Puntland administration stated on Sunday. <\/p>\n

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation was a critical step in dismantling ISIL\u2019s ability to coordinate attacks that threaten American citizens and global security. <\/p>\n

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud expressed his appreciation for US support, posting on X that Washington’s counterterrorism efforts were \u201chighly valued and welcomed in Somalia.\u201d <\/p>\n

Puntland’s Information Minister, Mohamud Aidid Dirir, confirmed that the airstrikes specifically hit ISIL bases in the Cal Miskaad Mountains, a segment of the Golis range. However, he noted that the number of casualties remained uncertain due to the nighttime operation. <\/p>\n

Despite sustained pressure from Somali forces, US air raids, and al-Shabab rivalries, ISIL continues to operate in remote and urban areas, leveraging extortion, smuggling, and illicit taxation to fund its activities. <\/p>\n

The International Crisis Group estimates the group’s fighters in Somalia to be in the hundreds, primarily scattered across the rugged Cal Miskaad Mountains. <\/p>\n

\"United<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The semiautonomous Puntland regional government in Somalia has confirmed that recent US airstrikes in the Golis Mountains killed key figures within the ISIL (ISIS) group, marking a huge blow to the armed faction\u2019s presence in the region. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000080998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-52807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000080998,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/download_5_1_.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/download_5_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/download_5_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/download_5_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/download_5_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/download_5_1_.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000080998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52807"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=52807"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=52807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}