-Security forces say most of those killed were foreigners

MOGADISHU, Somalia – More than thirty fighters from the Somalia-based Daesh/ISIS terror group were killed Wednesday in new airstrikes in the northern Puntland province of Bari, according to security officials.

The strikes targeted Daesh/ISIS positions in the Sheebaab area of the Almiskaad mountains of the Bar region.

Puntland Counterterrorism Operations said most of those killed in the air raid were foreigners without specifying the countries of origin.

“Two airstrikes that took place tonight in the Sheebaab area of the Calmiskaad mountains killed more than 30 ISIS terrorists, most of whom were foreigners, and destroyed the supply vehicle they were transporting,” the counterterrorism unit wrote on X.

The strikes came one day after security forces in the northeastern semiautonomous state of Puntland said they killed more than 60 ISIS (Daesh) terrorists.

The operation on Tuesday involved a coordinated air and ground assault against the terrorists in the mountainous area of the Bari region, according to Gen. Mohamoud Fadhigo, spokesperson for the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operation.

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) said Tuesday that a Feb. 1 airstrike it carried out against ISIS killed 14 terrorists, including a senior leader.

The strike targeted senior ISIS-Somalia leadership in a series of cave complexes approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of the port city of Bosaso, the capital of the northeastern Bari region.

Among those killed was Ahmed Maeleninine, a key ISIS recruiter, financier and external operations leader “responsible for the deployment of jihadists into the United States and across Europe.”

Security forces have been conducting operations against the terror group for more than a month, liberating large areas from its control.

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

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” against it.