Sunday 16, Feb 2025 {HMC} Puntland has dispatched military experts to the front lines in the Al-Miskaat mountains in the Bari region as it prepares for the final phase of operations against ISIS militants.
General Mohamed Hirsi Morgan, a former high-ranking Somali National Army officer, and General Bashir America, the former commander of the Somali National Police, along with other security specialists, are the military experts who reached the mountains.
Their mission is to strategize and minimize further losses for Puntland’s forces, which have already suffered over 100 casualties, including several officers, in the prolonged battle against ISIS.
Videos circulating on social media show the military officials engaging in operational planning, signaling intensified efforts to conclude the offensive.
Puntland has lost numerous officers in the ongoing conflict, including General Mukhtaar Gaagale and Colonel Farhan Hareed, both of whom were killed on the front lines. Others, such as Gen. Fu’aad Xahano and Brigadier General Abdirahman Mohamed Jama, the deputy commander of the Puntland Dervish army, sustained injuries in the ongoing fighting.
The Puntland State government continues to reinforce its military campaign, claiming that hundreds of ISIS militants have been eliminated in combat operations since December. Authorities remain focused on eliminating the remaining insurgents as they advance into the final phase of the military offensive.
