MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The U.S. military carried out an airstrike targeting Islamic State militants southeast of Bosaso on Friday, in coordination with Somalia’s federal government, amid ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the region, AFRICOM said on Saturday.
The strike coincided with ground clashes between Puntland regional forces and ISIS fighters in the Mirale area of the Al Miskad Mountains, where Somali troops are intensifying efforts to dismantle the group’s entrenched presence.
In recent months, Puntland forces have recaptured a number of villages from the group, ending years of tacit tolerance that had allowed ISIS to sustain an extortion racket across major urban centers in the semi-autonomous region.
The operation marks a significant escalation in Puntland’s campaign to eliminate ISIS footholds in Somalia’s mountainous north.
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