Updated on Monday, September 8, at 7:58 pm EST
US Africa Command said in a press release on Friday that its forces launched airstrikes against the ISIS affiliate in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region as the Trump administration continues its heavy air war in the country.
AFRICOM said that it launched airstrikes on August 31, September 1, and September 2 against targets in the Golis Mountains region, approximately 30 miles southeast of the Gulf of Aden port city of Bossaso.
On September 3, US-backed Puntland forces posted photos of the bodies of alleged ISIS fighters they said were killed in operations conducted over the last 72 hours. The Puntland Counter-Terrorism Operations claimed in a post on Telegram that “approximately 15 ISIS terrorists” were killed in the US-backed assault.
AFRICOM stopped sharing casualty estimates or assessments on potential civilian harm earlier this year. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” the command said.
AFRICOM told Antiwar.com in an email on Monday that its forces launched a total of three airstrikes during the three-day operation, which brings the total number of US airstrikes in Somalia this year to 74.
The Trump administration has significantly escalated the US bombing campaign in Somalia and has also been targeting al-Shabaab in southern Somalia. The administration has shattered the record for the total number of US airstrikes in Somalia in a single year, which President Trump previously set at 63 during his first term in 2019.
