Daesh remerges, trains in Somalia’s Puntland

Ahmed Soltan

News outlets have published photos circulated by Daesh showing terrorists within its Somali branch training in a makeshift camp in Somalia’s northern Puntland region.

The photo report details the militants undergoing basic weapons and physical training at the so-called “Dawoud al Somali” training camp, which is named after a killed military trainer of the group.

Additionally, the jihadist group claims these fighters are new recruits, which is likely given the recruitment efforts in the region. US AFRICOM has noted that the group has been able to recruit new members despite military efforts against it.

According to Long War Journal, Ethiopia has also reported that it arrested Daesh Somalia (ISS) members earlier this month who were recruiting Ethiopians into ISS.

The rudimentary camp is likely located somewhere in Puntland’s Bari mountains south of Bosaso, the Daesh Somalia’s main stronghold.

That area has seen numerous Puntland military operations, as well as US airstrikes, against the jihadist group. Earlier this year, the deputy emir of the group was killed by a US airstrike in the region.

In late 2015, a number of al-Shabaab militants led by Abdulqadir Mumin pledged allegiance to DAESH’ self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Mumin, a Somali-born radical preacher, lived for years in Sweden and the United Kingdom before fleeing back to Somalia after coming under the scrutiny of MI5, the United Kingdom’s domestic counterintelligence and security agency.

His remote mountainous camp enabled Mumin and his small band of followers to survive al-Shabaab’s ruthless campaign against DAESH encroachments in Somalia, but also enabled him to gather additional recruits to his Abnaa ul-Calipha group.

This is not the first time the Daesh has advertised training camps inside Somalia. The “Commander Sheikh Abu Numan training camp” was previously featured in a video released in 2016.

That facility is named after Bashir Abu Numan, a Shabaab commander who was one of the earliest to defect to the Daesh but was later killed by Shabaab’s Amniyat (internal security force).

Daesh operations inside Somalia has drastically slowed in recent months. Late last week, it claimed its first operation since Aug. 14 and its first inside Mogadishu since Aug. 5.

It is probable that continued pressure by Shabaab, as well as military efforts against it by Puntland security forces, the Somali military, and the threat of US airstrikes have slowed its operational tempo.