On Saturday, President Trump ordered airstrikes targeting ISIS leaders in Somalia. This action forms part of the ongoing U.S. counterterrorism efforts designed to dismantle the terrorist organization’s operations in the region. The airstrikes underline a clear commitment to national security and the protection of U.S. interests abroad.
The strikes, executed by U.S. Africa Command, focused on identified ISIS operatives who were allegedly hiding in caves. According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, there were no civilian casualties.
“Our initial assessment is that multiple operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed,” Hegseth said in a statement. “This action further degrades ISIS's ability to plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians and sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct robust border-protection and many other operations under President Trump's leadership.”
Trump didn’t shy away from confronting past leadership failures, either. In his post on Truth Social announcing the strikes, he specifically referenced the shortcomings of former President Biden in handling counterterrorism.
This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia. These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies. The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians. Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did!
In a stark warning, Trump declared, "The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that ‘WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!’”
The Associated Press has more.
U.S. military officials have warned that IS cells have received increasing direction from the group’s leadership that relocated to northern Somalia. That has included how to kidnap Westerners for ransom, how to learn better military tactics, how to hide from drones and how to build their own small quadcopters.
The IS affiliate in Somalia emerged in 2015 as a breakaway faction from al-Shabab, al-Qaida’s East African link, and is most active in Puntland, particularly in the Galgala Mountains, where it has established hideouts and training camps and is led by Abdulkadir Mumin.
While its influence is relatively limited compared to Al-Shabaab, IS in Somalia has been involved in attacks in southern and central Somalia. The group funds its activities through extortion, smuggling, and illicit taxation, particularly in some coastal areas where it has attempted to control local businesses.
Despite facing counterterrorism pressure from Somali security forces, U.S. airstrikes and al-Shabab rivalries, it continues to operate in remote and urban areas, seeking to expand its influence through recruitment and propaganda.
This operation isn’t just another military action—it’s a sign that the fight against terrorism is taking a more aggressive, proactive turn.
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