Authorities in the Somali autonomous region of Puntland said eight foreign militants were killed following an attack by Islamic fighters on security forces early Tuesday.
Residents said the attack started with a suicide bombing that targeted an area in Dharjale village in the far eastern highlands of Puntland, where security forces and officials were camped.
In an audio statement posted on the Telegram channel of the region’s security forces, spokesperson for Puntland security operations Brigadier General Mohamud Mohamed Ahmed confirmed the attack.
“Puntland anti-terrorism forces in the Dharjale, Bari region were attacked by the bloodsucking Daesh terrorist group,” he said.
“The security forces have been following their movements, and they were ready. The bodies of eight foreigners and their weapons have been displayed.”
Ahmed said Puntland security forces sustained “limited casualties.”
Islamic State claims responsibility
In a statement on Wednesday, Islamic State, or IS, claimed it killed over 20 regional security forces in the attack, a figure that has not been independently verified.
Residents reported additional casualties among civilians in the village from the shrapnel of the explosion. Photos purported to be of dead militants show severed heads, and burned and mutilated flesh, indicating the use of a massive explosive device.
Puntland this month announced that preparations for an offensive against extremist groups in the region have been completed.
The region’s leader, Said Abdullahi Deni, urged the public to support the operation, without disclosing when it may start. Witnesses and residents said that Puntland forces moved to the east of Puntland after the preparations concluded.
Al-Shabab and IS have been operating in Puntland. The operation appears to be focusing on IS. Deni offered amnesty to militants who renounce violence and their membership in the terror groups.
U.S. military officials and Somali security experts reported that IS in Somalia increased its membership numbers this year.
IS numbers previously were reported to be between 100 and 400 fighters, but Somali security and intelligence experts estimate their current numbers to be 500 to 600 militants, a figure yet to be confirmed by local authorities.
A majority of the newcomers are said to be from the Middle East and eastern and northern Africa.
IS in Somalia was formed in October 2015 by a group of former al-Shabab fighters led by the cleric Sheikh Abdulkadir Mumin, who reportedly pledged allegiance to the late IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Mumin appears to have survived a U.S. airstrike on May 31.
