GAROWE (Kaab TV) – Puntland Police Force officers in the Ufeyn district of Bari region on Tuesday arrested a Yemeni national suspected of being a member of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group operating in the Calmiskaad mountains.
The suspect, identified as Mukhtaar Ali Nasir, was captured in the Afcad area of Ufeyn district, according to officials. Authorities said he had been traveling with two other men who managed to escape before the arrest.
General Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed Faadhigo, spokesperson for the Calmiskaad military operation, said the suspects had been searching for donkeys and had spent three days traveling from the Shakaala area, which officials describe as one of the remaining ISIS strongholds in the mountainous region.
Puntland authorities have intensified military operations against ISIS militants in the Calmiskaad mountains since earlier this year, targeting hideouts and supply routes used by the group in northeastern Somalia.
Earlier this year, the Puntland Government publicly displayed dozens of foreign ISIS suspects captured during operations in the Calmiskaad campaign, many of whom have not yet appeared before court.
According to Puntland officials, around 50 foreign fighters were detained during the operations. Nearly half were reportedly from neighboring Ethiopia, while others came from Morocco, Yemen, Tanzania, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.
Puntland security forces say operations in the Calmiskaad mountains are continuing as authorities attempt to dismantle ISIS networks and eliminate remaining militant cells in the region.