ISIS in Somalia: From Origins to Recent Battlefield Losses

oleh admin | Mar 24, 2025 | isis, islam, islamic state of iraq and syria, military, politics

The Islamic State in Somalia is part of the global extremist organization known as ISIS, which operates internationally.

Located in the semiautonomous region of Puntland within northern Somalia, this terrorist organization became the focus of the inaugural international military action undertaken by the Trump administration in February 2017.

Earlier, the organization had connections to intended terrorist acts against the Vatican and the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.

Stig Jarle Hansen, who has written multiple books on African extremism, explores its roots, growth, and most recent military setbacks in the Puntland mountain region.

Read: Puntland offensive delivers setback to Islamic State in Somalia. Prior to the emergence of the Islamic State in Somalia in 2015, the Somali extremist organization Al-Shabaab was dominant in the northern region.

The limited team maintained far-reaching ties to smuggling rings.

Later, it divided into two factions, with Sheikh Abdulqader Muumin, who would go on to lead the Islamic State in Somalia, arising from one of these offshoots.

In Somalia, clans dictate the relationships among individuals and various entities within the society. The affiliations of this new group with the Ali Suleiman sub-clan allowed it to benefit from the clan’s ties to illicit trafficking networks and pirate organizations operating at sea.

Puntland serves as the central point for communication and maritime commerce connecting Somalia with Yemen and the broader Middle East. Illicit activities have been prevalent in this area for many years. Its rough landscape provides an advantageous setting for acts of piracy, unauthorized smuggling, and insurgent operations.

For over thirty years, Puntland has maintained a largely independent status within Somalia, with minimal interference from the central Somali government in recent times. As for the leader of Al-Shabaab’s affiliate in Somalia, Muumin resided in Sweden during the 1990s and early 2000s before relocating to the United Kingdom.

In Somalia, he became affiliated with Al-Shabaab and emerged as a notable presence in the organization’s radical video content. These videos serve to uphold certain values, draw in fresh members, and generate support for the group.

In 2015, Muumin deserted to head the Islamic State in Somalia. His deputy was an additional member from the Ali Suleiman clan named Mahad Moalim. The following year, in 2016, the group’s initial video began circulating via Islamic State propaganda channels.

A significant event occurred after the group’s suicide attack at the Juba Hotel in Bosaso, which serves as Puntland’s main commercial hub and port, in 2017.

This allowed the Islamic State in Somalia to coerce businesses based in Bossasso into paying them protection fees, which became their primary source of revenue. It is estimated that between 2017 and 2018, the organization was likely responsible for up to 50 targeted killings in central Somalia.

Murders served as a coercive means to extort protection money.

Read: Al-Shabaab Turns 18: Why Has It Refused to Disband?
On July 27, 2018, the Somali group became an official provincial branch of the Islamic State, commonly referred to as ISIS. This designation occurred when the Maktab al-Karrar regional office, located within the smaller Puntland chapter, assumed international duties.

The Somali faction was assigned responsibility for the Central African and Mozambique regions under the Islamic State’s purview. Funds were transferred to this group by the Islamic State, along with proceeds from extortions in Bossaso and various other towns across northern Puntland; however, such inflows from Mogadishu occurred less frequently.

During the initial six months of 2022, the US Treasury asserted that the organization garnered $2.3 million through ransom demands, associated imports, farming, and animal husbandry activities.

The regional office along with Muumin became prominent financial entities across East Africa and beyond, operating primarily from Buur Dexhtaal in Bari Puntland. In fact, according to claims by unidentified U.S. officials in 2023, Muumim was appointed as the international head of the Islamic State.3 Overstating Influence: The influence of the Islamic State within Somalia tends to be exaggerated. They have not managed to seize or maintain extensive regions. By 2024, estimates suggested their membership ranged between 600 and 1,600 individuals. This figure is significantly smaller when compared to Al-Shabaab’s presence in southern Somalia.

The connections to an alleged assault on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm scheduled for 2024 were likely tenuous and did not withstand scrutiny in legal proceedings. Additionally, the individual associated with plans for an attack in the Vatican during 2018 appears to have departed from the Islamic State before the plot was developed.

It is equally uncertain that Muumin leads the global Islamic State, as asserted by certain individuals. This skepticism stems primarily from two factors. Firstly, a leader of the Islamic State must come from a clan associated with the Prophet (the Quraysh tribe).

Muumin does not qualify. Additionally, the Islamic State in Somalia is the least extensive among the Islamic State’s African provinces. It is probable that a leader from a more powerful region would be positioned higher.

Despite the revenue-generation capabilities of the group based in Puntland enhancing its profile in Islamic State propaganda, the Islamic State in Somalia doesn’t outrank the Islamic State in the Sahara or Mozambique.

For Somali media outlets, fear often masquerades as legislation. Despite setbacks, they remain resilient. In January 2025, the Puntland administration spearheaded an effective counter-assault against the Islamic State, supported by aerial assistance from both the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.

In January and February, Puntland emerged victorious in significant skirmishes, one of which resulted in the death of 70 Islamic State militants.

By the end of February, the spirits of the Islamic State combatants appeared to wane. When their primary stronghold at Buur Dexhtaal was seized in March, most of the significant recognized outposts had been overrun. Numerous escaping foreign fighters ended up being apprehended.

However, the Islamic State has not been vanquished. The landscape allowed certain combatants to remain concealed. Both Muumin, who is in his 70s, and his deputy, Abdirahman Fahiye, have reportedly survived unharmed. At minimum, a few hundred fighters still remain active.

Should the Islamic State continue to extract funds from the business sector in the north, it might enlist members among the substantial population of Oromo Ethiopian refugees residing in and around Bosasso, along with local individuals seeking employment.

Written by Stig Jarle Hansen – Professor of International Relations at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences Supplied by SyndiGate Media Inc.
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