Military operations in Somalia’s Puntland kill more than 60 Daesh fighters

​​​​​​​By Mohamed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Security forces in Somalia’s northeastern semiautonomous state of Puntland said Tuesday that they killed more than 60 Daesh/ISIS terrorists.

Gen. Mohamoud Fadhigo, spokesman for the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operation, told reporters that operations involved a coordinated air and ground assault against the terrorists in the mountains area of Bari region.

“The operation against the terrorists continues and the latest fighting in Haraaryo area killed between 60 to 65 terrorists,” he said.

Although he did not specify the exact number of security forces killed during the operation, he sent his “condolences to those who were martyred defending the country against the terrorists.”

Security forces repelled Daesh attacks that used suicide bombers on a military base in Bari region earlier Tuesday.

Media reports said more than 15 Daesh attackers, including suicide bombers, were killed in that attack.

“This morning, the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operation Forces defeated ISIS terrorists in direct combat in the Haraaryo area of the Calmiskaad mountains,” counterterrorism forces wrote on X.

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

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from the terror 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.