US Airstrike Kills 10 Islamic State Militants in Somalia

The United States has executed a new airstrike targeting Islamic State militants in Somalia, killing 10 fighters, according to a statement from the White House.

“That brings the total to over 100 bloodthirsty terrorists killed since President Trump was sworn in,” the statement reads.

U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Somalia began in early February and are conducted in coordination with Somalia’s federal government.

Islamic State-affiliated militants operate primarily in northern Somalia, particularly in the semi-autonomous Puntland region.

IS-Somalia was formed in 2015 when a faction split from al-Shabaab, Somalia’s dominant Islamist insurgent group, aligned with al-Qaeda.

U.S. Africa Command occasionally conducts drone and airstrikes against IS-Somalia targets.

Several senior commanders were reported killed between 2022 and 2024.

Though relatively small in number, IS-Somalia remains an active terrorist threat and could expand amid ongoing instability in the region.

It also functions as a regional Islamic State cell, coordinating with affiliates in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Trump administration is reportedly weighing formal recognition of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in exchange for basing rights for a U.S. naval facility.

Somaliland, located in northern Somalia, declared independence in 1991 following the collapse of the regime of dictator Siad Barre, which triggered a protracted civil war.

The territory corresponds to the former British protectorate of British Somaliland. The de facto independent state formed after the fall of the regime of dictator Siad Barre, which plunged the country into civil war.