MOGADISHU (Kaab TV) – A pregnant woman and her three children were killed in an airstrike that struck a remote mountainous area in Almiskad about 30 kilometers from Buruc village in the Qandala district of Bari region, according to local officials and residents in Puntland.
The strike, whose perpetrators have not yet been officially identified, also seriously injured the father of the family. Information about the incident only emerged several days later due to the lack of telecommunications and difficult terrain in the isolated area where the family was living.
Buruc local administrator Daad Isse Mahmoud told local media that the attack occurred four days earlier in a remote settlement in the Calmiskaad mountains, an area known for ongoing military operations against militants linked to Islamic State in Somalia (ISIS).
“The strike hit a family living about 30 kilometers from Buruc,” the official said. “The household consisted of a pregnant woman, three children, and the head of the family. The pregnant mother, the three children, and even the livestock they owned were all killed.”
He added that the injured father managed to walk to an area with mobile phone coverage to alert authorities and local residents about the attack.
“The injured man reached a place with communication access and informed people about the incident. A rescue team later traveled to the scene,” he said.
Residents said the family were nomadic pastoralists who relied on livestock for survival and had settled in the mountainous area in search of grazing land and water for their animals. Community members stated that the family had no known connection to armed groups operating in the region.
The incident has shocked local communities in Bari region and renewed fears among civilians living in conflict-affected rural areas where military operations and airstrikes have intensified in recent years.
The Calmiskaad mountains have become one of the main strongholds of ISIS-linked militants in Somalia, prompting Puntland security forces to launch repeated military offensives with support from international partners. Puntland authorities have previously acknowledged that foreign allies have conducted aerial operations targeting militant hideouts in the rugged mountain terrain.
However, local residents and human rights advocates have repeatedly raised concerns over civilian casualties linked to airstrikes and military raids in remote pastoral communities where families often live far from towns and communication services.
This is not the first time civilians have reportedly been harmed in operations in the Calmiskaad mountains. In 2025, at least two other rural families were reportedly affected by strikes and clashes in the area, sparking criticism from local elders who accused authorities of failing to adequately protect civilians.
Security analysts say the ongoing conflict between Puntland forces and ISIS militants has made life increasingly dangerous for nomadic communities living in remote mountainous regions, where distinguishing civilians from militants can be difficult during aerial surveillance and military operations.
The latest strike is expected to increase pressure on the Puntland Government and its international security partners to clarify who carried out the attack and whether civilians were mistakenly targeted.
So far, neither Puntland authorities nor international military partners involved in counterterrorism operations in the region have released an official statement regarding the incident or announced an investigation into the reported civilian deaths.