The Islamic State grouping in Somalia’s Puntland region reportedly has earned ground from al-Shabaab, its longtime enemy. The IS claims to have taken possession of the Al Miskaad mountain range. The groups have competed for control of strategic territory in the Bari district for eight years, according to a new report by the Emirates Policy Center.
Al Miskaad’s place in northeast Somalia offers laboriously forested cover near a clan with links to Somali IS leader Abdul Qadir Mumin, which offers security to the group. It is a remote, sparsely populated area with few permanent settlements. The growth of ISIS in Puntland provides the group with a powerful propaganda boost to support its recruitment efforts and draw foreign fighters.
The expansion also permits the group greater access to the sea, more chances for taxation and financial operations, and possible coordination with an IS offshoot in Yemen, Khalid, lead author of the new report, reported. It also may help IS control the increasing activities of Somali pirates. Al-Shabaab has accomplished this by reportedly offering to guard pirates in exchange for a share of ransom proceeds. After a six-year lull in episodes, Somali pirates launched a resurgence last year.
Al-Shabaab, al-Qaida’s Somalia-based addition, is viewed as the more powerful group. It has far more members and forced the IS south for years. By 2022, observers state, the IS appeared to be on the brink of collapse in Puntland. However, when Somalia’s government established an offensive against al-Shabaab in southern Somalia last year, the shift in direction inadvertently offered a lifeline to the IS. Al-Shabaab had to shift its resources and attention away from the Al Miskaad peaks, according to the news website The Somali Digest.
This led to intense fighting between the rivals. The IS asserted control of the mountain range in April after a three-month offensive that destroyed 50 al-Shabaab fighters, including key commanders. The campaign started on January 28, when IS fighters armed with machine guns repelled a tried al-Shabaab advance in the Walisoor valley. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute MEMRI, the IS then went on the offensive, successfully striking al-Shabaab positions and ambushing rival soldiers as they tried to plant devised explosive devices (IEDs). The IS seized ammunition and military equipment during these operations.
The IS executed “da’wah” activities in some of the villages they seized during Ramadan. Da’wah is an Arabic term that around means proselytizing. In these areas, the IS disassembled IEDs left by al-Shabaab and performed Eid al-Fitr prayers with villagers. As Caleb Weiss stated in the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, terror groups usually try to convert people to their understanding of Islam and build goodwill in communities, even those they seize.
As the conflict between the rivals boosts, security in Puntland and the rest of Somalia remains uncertain. IS gains in Puntland could alter the dynamics of continuous security operations across Somalia, complicating counterterrorism measures. Puntland administrators ought to contain the IS menace within the state “through increased intelligence career and community engagement, aiming to stop further deterioration of the security situation,” dry up the budgets for IS and “undermine its cross-border organizational ties.”
Puntland security sources calculate that IS ranks have increased to between 200 and 300 fighters, mostly Ethiopian citizens. The IS and its supporters have intensified media productions and translations since 2022 in major languages spoken in Ethiopia, such as Amharic and Oromo, according to the Institute for the Study of War.