Somali Army and Peacekeepers Recapture Key City From Islamists

The Somali army, with the support of African Union peacekeepers, has recaptured the key city of Bariire from Islamist militants.

This is reported by The Defense Post.

Somalia’s Ministry of Defense said on Friday that the Somali army and international peacekeepers have “completely secured” the strategically important city of Bariyare from Islamist militants after more than a week of fighting.

Since the beginning of last year, the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group has seized dozens of towns and villages in an offensive that has reversed almost all of the gains made by the Somali army in 2022 and 2023.

On August 1, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) launched an offensive to retake the city of Bariire, located about 100 kilometers west of the capital Mogadishu, in the region of Bash Shabelle.

Bariire, home to a major military operating base, fell to al-Shabaab in March without a fight after Somali soldiers retreated and the jihadists destroyed a vital bridge.

Footage released by Somalia’s Ministry of Defence shows part of the battle for the strategic town of Bariire, recently recaptured from Al Shabab terrorists, who planted explosive devices and dug trenches to block troops from entering the town.

The military says more than 100… pic.twitter.com/K2lRJThsaF

— TRT Afrika (@trtafrika) August 10, 2025

On Friday, August 8, Somalia’s Ministry of Defense announced that the city had been recaptured by federal forces and Ugandan troops under the command of AUSSOM.

“This afternoon, the strategic city of Bariire has been fully secured… after a week-long offensive,” the statement said. According to official information, al-Shabaab’s losses are estimated at “more than 100 militants”.

In addition to the African Union, the United States also provides assistance in the fight against Islamists. They support a contingent of special units, in particular USSOCOM (Special Operations Command) in Somalia, which is tasked with supporting raid operations of the Somali military, as well as conducting reconnaissance and coordinating air strikes by US aircraft.

The United States is quite intensively conducting air strikes on the targets of the Islamic State and al-Shabaab militants using reconnaissance and strike drones operating from air bases in Djibouti. In 2022-2024, several key commanders were reported to have been eliminated.

Since the beginning of February, the US aviation has resumed a campaign of strikes against the Islamic State terrorist organization’s targets in Somalia. American strikes are carried out in coordination with the federal government of Somalia.

In addition, American military transport aircraft deliver supplies to the Somali military during counterterrorism operations in hard-to-reach regions.