National Telescope national telescope newspaper
The United States military carried out airstrikes on Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Somalia on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said he had ordered “precision military airstrikes” against the senior ISIS attack planner and other terrorists operating in Somalia.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the strikes targeted ISIS operatives in the Golis Mountains, located in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.
“Our initial assessment is that multiple operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed,” Hegseth said.
Local military commanders in Puntland also confirmed the attacks. Mohamed Ali, a military officer in the Bossaso area, told AFP that the strikes precisely hit their targets, and there were likely casualties among terrorist leaders, including foreign fighters.
Another soldier, Abdirahman Adan, reported hearing five explosions and seeing smoke rising from the area.
The Puntland government has yet to issue an official statement on the airstrikes.
Hegseth stated that the operation was aimed at weakening ISIS’s ability to plan and carry out attacks that pose a threat to the US, its allies, and civilians.
“The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that ‘We will find you, and we will kill you!’” Trump declared.
While ISIS has a smaller presence in Somalia compared to the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, experts warn that the group’s activities in the region are increasing.
