Puntland says U.S. airstrikes killed 46 ISIS fighters in Somali mountain hideouts

# Puntland says U.S. airstrikes killed 46 ISIS fighters in Somali mountain hideouts

*Event date: 2025-02-02*

Puntland officials say U.S. airstrikes killed 46 ISIS fighters in the Al-Miskad Mountains in northeastern Somalia, according to Hiiraan Online. The account came from Puntland’s anti-ISIS operations and described the target area as a remote stretch of Bari region where militant hideouts have been dug into the terrain.

The most direct attribution in the report is to Gen. Mahamoud Mohamed Ahmed, also known as Faadhigo, the spokesperson and field lead for Puntland’s anti-ISIS campaign. He said the strikes hit key hideouts used by militants and destroyed underground bunkers and shelters. The death toll, he said, was confirmed through intelligence gathered by both U.S. and Puntland security services.

Because the packet contains only the Puntland account, the story has to stay firmly within what those officials claimed. The excerpt does not include a U.S. military statement or an independent casualty assessment, so the report cannot be treated as a jointly verified battlefield count. What can be said is that Puntland authorities are presenting the airstrikes as a significant blow against ISIS infrastructure in the mountains.

The location matters. The Al-Miskad Mountains are remote, rugged and difficult to police, which is why the report frames the area as a sanctuary for insurgents. By saying the strikes destroyed underground bunkers and shelters, Puntland officials were not just tallying casualties; they were also suggesting that the militants’ support network and living spaces were hit directly.

The announcement also fits into a longer anti-ISIS campaign in Puntland, where local forces have been trying to dislodge militants from mountainous terrain in the Bari region. The report does not provide a separate operational timeline or explain whether the airstrikes were part of a larger U.S. campaign. It simply says the strikes happened and that Puntland officials believe the results were substantial.

For readers, the key point is attribution. This is a claim made by Puntland officials, reported by a local outlet, about a U.S. airstrike operation in a remote Somali mountain range. The reported toll is 46 fighters, and the reported effect is the destruction of hideouts and bunkers that the militants were using to hold ground.

Until a U.S. statement or independent assessment is published, the significance of the report lies in the local authorities' confidence that the strike hit the militants' mountain hideouts hard.

That still marks a notable claim of battlefield success in a remote zone that is hard to monitor independently.