Seven Puntland soldiers were killed and five others wounded when their military vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Bari region. The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon in the Dararmadoobe area, situated between the villages of Tuurmasaale and Dhaadaar. Security sources said the blast was caused by a roadside IED, a tactic frequently employed against Puntland forces operating in the Al Miskat terrain.
This is not the first time IEDs have targeted Puntland troops in the area. The attack comes just days after Puntland Parliament’s First Deputy Speaker, Mohamed Baari Shire, warned that ISIS militants had re-emerged in parts of the mountains previously cleared by security operations.
Baari noted that the extremist group has embedded itself within nomadic communities in the Al Miskat range, complicating efforts to drive them out. The incident comes a day after the Puntland security forces engaged in clashes with ISIS militants near Qandala town, capturing one foreign militant alive, and eliminating several others.
