(20 Oct 2024) BOSASO (Halqabsi News) – Puntland Security Forces (PSF) have captured a foreign national, Abdalla Mustaf Abu-Deir, during a special overnight operation in the Almikad mountains of Somalia’s Bari region. The individual, who also goes by the name Salim, is believed to have fought alongside the Daesh (ISIS) group in Somalia.
In a video released by the PSF, Abu-Deir revealed that he originally hails from Sakhnin, Israel, where he had been pursuing an engineering degree. He detailed his journey to Somalia to join Daesh, stating, “My name is Abdalla Mustaf Abu-Deir, commonly known as Salim. I was a student of engineering at a university in Sakhnin, Israel.”
Abu-Deir explained that Daesh militants were awaiting his arrival in Puntland and took him to a location called Istiqbal, where he received training alongside other fighters.
The arrest has sparked widespread debate, with many questioning why Abu-Deir chose to join ISIS in Somalia rather than other conflict zones closer to Israel, such as Palestine. His capture comes amid reports of a growing number of foreign fighters joining ISIS in Somalia, particularly in the mountainous regions of Puntland.
The PSF’s operation is part of Puntland’s broader counterterrorism efforts to combat the rising presence of foreign fighters in Somalia, as ISIS continues to establish strongholds in the region’s remote areas.
Halqabsi News
