Somali security soldiers repel an Islamic State suicide attack

Somali security forces repelled an Islamic State suicide bomber strike on a military base in Puntland’s northeastern area Tuesday, according to a military official and the local state television.

The semi-autonomous state had just begun a major operation against Islamic State and a rival Islamist organization, the al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab, when Islamic State launched its first attempt at such a large and sophisticated attack in the nation.

An officer in Puntland’s counter-terrorism forces, Captain Yusuf Mohamed, told Reuters that the attack occurred while the deputy speaker of the parliament was on a visit to the base.

Several soldiers had been wounded, he claimed, and nine suicide bombers had been slain.

According to a Facebook post by Puntland State TV, the raid near the town of Dharjaale in the Bari area claimed the lives of eight suicide bombers.
A request for response from Somalia’s information minister was not immediately answered.

The organization, which has its headquarters in Puntland’s mountainous regions, was formally acknowledged as the Somali province of Islamic State in 2017. Given that al Shabaab controls large portions of southern Somalia, it was long seen as a minor security issue in the Horn of Africa nation.

Nonetheless, the Somali franchise has transformed into a significant component of the global network of the terrorist organization in recent years, and some media agencies have referred to its leader, Abdulqadir Mumin, as its global chief.

71 people were killed in an Ethiopian tragedy on Sunday when a truck carrying passengers fell into a river.

Somalia has become the “nerve center” for Islamic State in Africa, according to security specialists, thanks to an increase in foreign militants and increased income from extortion of local companies.

Jay Bahadur, co-director of the regional investigative firm Scopus, stated, “This appears to be a preemptive strike to send a message before Puntland’s upcoming offensive.”

“If this included a vehicle bomb, it appears that they are directly trying to copy al Shabaab’s tactics of complex attacks.”