The suspect, identified as Hassan Atar, was arrested on Sunday, June 15, while fetching water alone from a well.

He was armed with an AK-47 rifle but unaccompanied, according to Brigadier General Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, one of the senior officers leading the counter-terror campaign.

“This represents a substantial achievement by Puntland’s counter-terror operations,” said Brig. Gen. Sheikh. “These exceptional tactical gains will significantly contribute to intelligence gathering, improving threat assessments, and deepening our understanding of this global terror network.”

The arrest was carried out by the 3rd Battalion of the Puntland Defense Forces. Atar is currently being held at an undisclosed interrogation facility.

This follows a similar incident in which Puntland forces previously captured a Moroccan national linked to ISIS.

Sweeping military campaign targeting ISIS

Since December 2024, Puntland has launched a sweeping military campaign targeting ISIS bases entrenched in the Cal Miskaad mountains.

The offensive, supported by U.S. forces, the UAE, and Ethiopia, has led to the recapture of key militant positions.

In a related development earlier this year, Puntland security forces recovered the passport of Mohamed Ahmed Al Hawshani, a Saudi ISIS operative, which revealed he had entered Somalia via Egypt, providing critical insight into the movement of foreign militants.

Meanwhile, following a deadly car bombing, Puntland authorities neutralized 12 ISIS militants near Dharjaalle, a remote mountain area in Bari.

According to Puntland intelligence sources, foreign fighters have been identified from countries including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.

While ISIS-Somalia remains smaller in scale compared to the al-Shabaab insurgency, its continued foothold in Puntland underscores the region’s ongoing security challenges.

ISIS-Somalia was established in 2015 when Abdulqadir Mumin, a former al-Shabaab cleric, pledged allegiance to ISIS.

Operating primarily in the Golis Mountains, the group has been responsible for a string of assassinations and IED attacks targeting security forces and local officials.

Puntland’s strategic location along the Gulf of Aden and its proximity to the Red Sea make it a key corridor for international maritime trade.

However, the same geography also renders it vulnerable to smuggling networks and transnational criminal activity, which extremist groups exploit for funding.

The region’s complex security environment is further complicated by the involvement of international actors and the broader geopolitical dynamics of the Horn of Africa.

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