On the night of May 4, 2025, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), in coordination with the Puntland Defence Forces, carried out an airstrike on the Golis Mountains in the Al-Miskaad mountain range reportedly against ISIS militants. While no specific casualty toll was provided, the Somali Ministry of Defense was quoted by multiple news sources as reporting that “several ISIS fighters were killed and others wounded in the precision airstrike”.

AFRICOM released a statement that “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted an airstrike against ISIS-Somalia on May 4, 2025. The airstrike occurred in the Golis Mountains in Northeastern Somalia.” The statement did not include any additional details, including about casualties, and added that “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security.”

According to Balidhidin Media, the strikes coincided with heavy shelling by the Puntland military against areas where “70 terrorists are suspected of being here, some of whom were with women and children” and provided a list of the locations the shelling occurred, including Gacan Cad, Shilalay, Haadi Lamaan, Suradka, and Aroorka Daylaan. There was no mention of whether casualties had occurred among civilians or militants.

Several media partners concurred that AFRICOM carried out the airstrikes thanks to the provision of credible intelligence by nomadic communities of the area, which led to the identification of key hideouts. As for the airstrike strategy, a senior regional military told The Somali Guardian that ‘Puntland security forces had encircled the targeted area and were closing in on the remaining fighters’.

In referring to the strikes which occurred “from last night to this morning” between May 4th to May 5th, Garowe Online posted on X/Twitter that the airstrikes had hit key locations “including Gacan Cad, Shilalay, Suradka, and Aroorka Daylaan, near Dhaban-caddo and others, according to Puntland security officials”.