– Abdirahman Shirwac, also known as Lahoor, was a member of terrorist group al-Shabaab before joining ISIS

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A senior ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group member on Monday surrendered to security forces of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland state when they carried out an operation in one of the group’s stronghold areas.

The security forces have been conducting the operation against the terrorist group for more than a month, liberating large swaths of territory from ISIS in the Al Miskaad Mountains in the Barri region.

The senior ISIS operative who surrendered to security forces has been identified as Abdirahman Shirwac, also known as Lahoor, who is wanted for his involvement in terrorist attacks in the port city of Bosaso, provincial capital of the Bari region, according to local media.

The Puntland Counterterrorism Operations said in a short statement on X that Lahoor, “a senior member of the ISIS terrorists, has surrendered to the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operations Forces.”

His surrender comes days after the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that in coordination with the Somali government it had carried out airstrikes on ISIS in Somalia.

Africom said multiple ISIS-Somalia operatives were killed in the airstrikes.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from the terrorist groups al-Shabaab and ISIS.

Since 2007, al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) a multidimensional mission authorized by the African Union and mandated by the UN Security Council.

The terror group has stepped up attacks since Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared an “all-out war” on the group.