U.S. Airstrikes in Somalia Surge to Record 109 After New Operations in Puntland and Jubaland.

U.S. military activity in Somalia has reached unprecedented levels, with seven new airstrikes conducted in late November and early December pushing the annual total to at least 109 strikes—the highest ever recorded in the country’s history.

The latest operations targeted ISIS-linked militants entrenched in the remote mountains of Puntland and an al-Shabaab position in Jubaland, underscoring Washington’s intensifying counterterrorism focus across Somalia’s fractured north and south.

According to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the first series of strikes hit militant hideouts on Nov. 26, 27 and 28 in a rugged zone approximately 37 miles southeast of Bosaso.

Additional strikes followed on Dec. 1, 2 and 3 in the same mountainous region, an area long known for its complex cave networks that ISIS fighters have used to evade Somali and U.S.-backed security forces.

A separate Dec. 3 strike targeted an al-Shabaab site near Kobon in southern Jubaland. AFRICOM released no casualty figures and provided no information on aircraft platforms or weapons employed.

The escalation comes shortly after AFRICOM commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson visited Puntland, pressuring regional authorities to widen their campaign against ISIS elements operating outside Mogadishu’s political reach.

Unlike other Somali regions, Puntland maintains semi-autonomous structures and has been one of the main local partners for U.S. counterterror missions—cooperation strengthened precisely because it bypasses the federal government.

This year’s total far exceeds earlier peaks. Under President Donald Trump, AFRICOM conducted 63 airstrikes in 2019 and 219 across his first four-year term. President Joe Biden approved 51 strikes over four years, according to the New America Foundation.

President Barack Obama authorized 48 over eight years. The 2024 tally therefore marks a dramatic acceleration, reflecting a renewed U.S. willingness to strike militant networks aggressively ahead of their anticipated expansion into coastal and urban zones.

Washington’s involvement in Somalia stretches back decades, but its modern counterterror strategy crystallized after the 2006 U.S.-backed Ethiopian intervention that toppled the Islamic Courts Union. Al-Shabaab emerged from that upheaval, launching its first major suicide attack the same year.

Somalia’s ISIS branch formed later, in 2015, after a faction of al-Shabaab broke away and pledged loyalty to the Islamic State—anchoring itself in Puntland’s mountains, where Somalia’s fragmented governance has enabled militant entrenchment.

The surge in U.S. strikes now signals a deeper strategic concern: both Islamic State and al-Shabaab elements are adapting, exploiting ungoverned spaces while Mogadishu remains engulfed in internal political turmoil.

For Washington, the Red Sea corridor’s volatility makes Somalia’s militant networks more than a local threat—they are a regional accelerant at a time when global trade routes face cascading instability.

WARYATV Exclusive: The Terror Partnership No One Saw Coming.

Intelligence obtained exclusively by WARYATV reveals a dramatic escalation in regional security threats, as a new confidential report confirms that Yemeni Houthi forces have been providing direct military and technical assistance to ISIS militants operating in Somalia.

This emerging alliance—bridging a Middle Eastern insurgent movement and one of Africa’s most dangerous terrorist groups—marks a profound shift in the operational landscape of jihadist networks across the region.

According to the report, ISIS fighters in Somalia have received specialized training from Houthi operatives in areas such as intelligence gathering, drone construction, and the deployment of explosive-equipped unmanned aerial systems.

These capabilities have played a decisive role in ISIS’s ongoing insurgency in Puntland, where the group has waged a grinding war for more than a year without decisive defeat.

Security officials say the first major sign of this partnership surfaced early in the conflict, when ISIS began deploying small, weaponized drones—far more sophisticated than anything previously documented in Somalia.

These drones have killed and injured Puntland security personnel, destroyed military vehicles, and allowed ISIS to conduct persistent surveillance over troop positions.

The report concludes that such capabilities were “beyond the technical reach of ISIS prior to direct external assistance,” indicating a structured training pipeline.

WARYATV previously uncovered indications of covert cooperation between jihadist groups such as Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Yemeni Houthi factions.

The Secret Maritime Corridor Linking Yemen’s Houthis to Somalia’s Militants

The new intelligence confirms that these links have evolved into a more formalized partnership—one that risks shattering regional security balances and opening new fronts in the Horn of Africa.

The strategic danger is clear: a multi-national extremist ecosystem is emerging, able to transfer technology, expertise, and battlefield tactics across borders.

Such collaborations amplify the lethality of each group individually and create a resilient network capable of adapting to military pressure.

The growing concern has reached international military leadership. AFRICOM Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson—who recently toured Ethiopia, Somaliland, and Puntland—issued his own warning.

The United States, he said, is increasingly alarmed by the security trajectory in the Horn of Africa and views strengthened cooperation with Somali security forces as essential to countering shared threats.

General Anderson emphasized that AFRICOM intends to deepen intelligence coordination and counterterrorism support, highlighting the need for regional governments to unify against emerging hybrid militant alliances.

The confidential report’s conclusion is stark: if the Houthi–ISIS operational pipeline is not disrupted, the Horn of Africa could face the most technologically capable and internationally networked terrorist threat in its modern history.

U.S. Strikes Target ISIS and Al-Shabab in Somalia

US Deepens Security Ties with Puntland in Counter-ISIS Campaign

AFRICOM Chief Reports Surge in Islamic State Fighters in Northern Somalia

AFRICOM Confirms 10 Airstrikes in Somalia in 2025

US AFRICOM Strikes ISIS Strongholds in Somalia

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal law enforcement to intensify investigations into domestic extremist groups, including organizations associated with the anti-fascist antifa movement, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters.

The directive marks one of the most sweeping expansions of domestic terrorism scrutiny in recent years, signaling a significant shift in the Justice Department’s priorities.

The memo, distributed Thursday to federal prosecutors and multiple law enforcement agencies, instructs the Justice Department to elevate cases involving suspected domestic terrorism and to pursue not only violent offenses but also potential financial crimes.

Bondi specifically asked investigators to examine “tax crimes” involving groups accused of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service, framing financial misconduct as part of a broader pattern of extremist activity.

“These domestic terrorists use violence or the threat of violence to advance political and social agendas,” Bondi wrote in the memo, listing a broad set of ideological positions that she said required heightened attention.

Among them were opposition to immigration enforcement, “extreme views” supporting mass migration and open borders, as well as anti-capitalist, anti-American, or anti-Christian sentiments. She argued that these ideologies could serve as a gateway to violence or organized disruption.

Bondi ordered the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to prioritize investigations into such groups and to coordinate closely with prosecutors on potential charges.

She also directed federal law enforcement agencies to review their intelligence holdings and turn over any relevant material, particularly information involving antifa-aligned networks.

The memo represents a consolidation of long-running concerns within conservative political circles that left-wing groups pose an escalating threat to public safety.

Critics of the approach have argued that the definition of “extremism” risks becoming overly broad and could sweep up constitutionally protected political activity.

Supporters contend that the rise of politically motivated violence, regardless of ideology, requires a muscular federal response.

The Justice Department has not commented publicly on the memo, and it remains unclear how many active investigations may fall under the newly expanded mandate.

But Bondi’s directive suggests that federal authorities are preparing to take a far more aggressive posture toward groups they believe blur the line between political activism and unlawful conduct.

Trump Administration Expands Air War in Somalia Against ISIS-Somalia and Al-Shabab.

The United States has sharply escalated its military campaign in Somalia, carrying out more than 100 airstrikes so far this year—over ten times the number launched during President Biden’s final year in office—marking one of the most aggressive counterterrorism operations in the region in more than a decade.

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed the figures Friday, underscoring a significant shift in the Trump administration’s counterterrorism posture across the Horn of Africa.

The strategy centers on dismantling ISIS-Somalia cells in the north and degrading al-Shabab’s entrenched networks across central and southern Somalia.

The latest strike, conducted Tuesday in Puntland, involved a multi-hour confrontation that local officials described as one of the most intense U.S.-backed engagements in the area in recent years.

While AFRICOM maintained that no American troops conducted ground operations, multiple local sources reported the use of MQ-9 Reaper drones followed by helicopter deployments around a large cave complex believed to house ISIS leadership.

AFRICOM stated only that “specific details about units and assets will not be released,” citing operational security.

Local reporting indicated that up to ten ISIS fighters were killed and that a senior militant figure may have been among the casualties.

Somali authorities said the operation was conducted in full coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, which has long sought deeper U.S. involvement against insurgent groups.

The escalation comes as Washington attempts to prevent ISIS-Somalia from evolving into a new regional safe haven capable of attracting foreign fighters—a pattern familiar from Iraq, Syria, and parts of the Sahel.

Among Western security analysts, there is growing concern that ISIS-Somalia’s recruitment networks remain active even as the group’s territorial control has shrunk.

But the intensified U.S. focus on ISIS has raised alarms about an emerging imbalance.

Al-Shabab, al-Qaeda’s East African affiliate and still the most powerful militant organization in Somalia, has exploited the shift in U.S. targeting priorities to reassert itself across central and southern regions.

Ahmed Soliman, a senior researcher at Chatham House, warned that al-Shabab is “leveraging shifting international focus to reconsolidate” in areas where Somali forces remain overstretched or divided.

The Federal Government’s strained relationships with regional states such as Puntland and Jubaland have complicated joint operations, allowing militants to re-establish influence in contested areas.

Despite these structural challenges, the Trump administration has made clear it intends to push harder. Former AFRICOM commanders have framed the campaign as necessary to prevent Somalia from becoming a launchpad for global terrorism. “The U.S. is actively pursuing and eliminating jihadists,” former commander Gen. Michael E. Langley said earlier this year.

With warplanes now flying routine missions from U.S. Navy carriers and the tempo of strikes steadily rising, Washington’s counterterrorism efforts are entering a new phase—one defined by rapid escalation, high-intensity engagements, and a renewed willingness to target militant networks before they can regenerate.

Whether this makes Somalia more stable—or simply shifts the conflict into a new cycle—remains an open question.

The Biden-era resettlement of Afghan nationals is once again under fierce scrutiny after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a sweeping re-examination of green card holders from 19 “countries of concern.”

The move came less than 24 hours after a targeted shooting near the White House left one National Guard member dead, another critically wounded, and reignited a national debate over vetting failures.

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said Thursday that President Donald Trump had ordered “a full-scale, rigorous reexamination” of every green card issued to immigrants from the designated countries, which include Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Syria, Venezuela, and others flagged in a June presidential proclamation for deficiencies in security screening.

The announcement marks the most expansive review of lawful permanent residents in decades, and it signals a dramatic shift in how the administration intends to treat thousands of immigrants who were admitted legally but are now subject to potential revocation if deemed improperly vetted.

A Shooting With Far-Reaching Consequences

The policy shift was triggered by Wednesday’s attack in Washington, D.C., when two National Guard members deployed under Trump’s federal policing initiative were ambushed near the Farragut West Metro station.

Twenty-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom later died of her injuries. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition.

Federal investigators identified the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who arrived in the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the emergency evacuation program launched during the Taliban takeover.

A relative told NBC News that Lakanwal served in the Afghan Army for a decade, including alongside U.S. Special Forces in Kandahar. The CIA later confirmed he had worked with American intelligence as part of a partner force until the U.S. withdrawal.

He ultimately settled in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five children.

Investigators say Lakanwal drove across the country before carrying out what authorities describe as a deliberate ambush.

Trump: “We Must Re-Examine Every Single Alien” From Afghanistan

In a video statement Thursday evening, President Trump called the shooting “an act of terror” and criticized the Biden administration’s decision to admit tens of thousands of Afghans in 2021.

“We must now re-examine every single alien who entered from Afghanistan under Biden,” Trump said, calling the attack “a crime against our entire nation.”

Shortly after his remarks, USCIS announced that all immigration processing for Afghan nationals would be halted indefinitely while new vetting protocols are developed.

A Policy With Uncertain Reach

It remains unclear how many of the roughly 76,000 Afghans evacuated in 2021 — as well as thousands of green card holders from other listed countries — may be subject to reviews, interviews, or possible revocation proceedings.

Legal experts say the policy is likely to face legal challenges, though the administration has made clear it intends to pursue an aggressive reassessment of prior admissions.

Local officials, meanwhile, urged caution in assigning collective blame.

San Diego–based AfghanEvac, a major resettlement advocacy group, said Afghan wartime partners are among the most heavily vetted immigrants in the U.S. system. “This act should not be used to define or diminish an entire community,” the group said.

But Thursday’s developments reinforce how a single violent incident — especially when tied to a national security program — can reshape federal policy overnight.

For now, federal officials say the investigation into Lakanwal’s motive is ongoing, and that prosecutors are treating the case as a potential act of terrorism.

U.S. special operations forces joined Puntland’s elite counterterrorism units in a major assault on an Islamic State stronghold in Somalia’s Balade Valley, according to Somali security officials briefed on the operation.

The coordinated strike—one of the most significant joint actions in Puntland in recent years—unfolded overnight, when U.S. troops were inserted into the rugged valley aboard MH-60 helicopters while MQ-9 Reaper drones conducted precision strikes on suspected militant compounds in the Habarbakuuje and Mareero areas.

Security officials said the targeted enclave had served as a fortified hideout for a small but hardened ISIS cell, including foreign fighters from Syria, Turkey and Ethiopia.

The assault triggered an intense gun battle that lasted between two and four hours as militants attempted to repel advancing forces from defensive positions carved into the mountainsides.

Early assessments indicate that a senior ISIS commander and several of his aides were killed, with officials estimating between five and ten militant casualties.

Joint forces also destroyed weapons stockpiles and equipment believed to support the group’s gold-mining operations—an increasingly critical revenue source fueling ISIS activities in Puntland.

Puntland authorities have vowed to dismantle ISIS networks across the region by the end of 2025, and U.S. support has expanded in recent months.

American drones and intelligence assets have targeted ISIS hideouts across the Bari mountains, helping push fighters from their traditional strongholds into more isolated terrain.

A Puntland security official said the latest operation reflects “tightened coordination” with U.S. forces and forms part of a broader campaign to degrade ISIS’ financial pipelines and operational reach.

Washington has not yet publicly commented on the strike, but U.S. counterterrorism operations in northern Somalia are typically authorized under long-standing missions aimed at disrupting transnational extremist groups.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday condemned the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House as “an act of evil” and “an act of terror,” as authorities identified the suspected gunman as a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021.

The two Guard members — a man and a woman — remained in critical condition after what officials described as a targeted ambush in downtown Washington. The shooting unfolded around 2:15 p.m. near the Farragut West Metro station, when the suspect rounded a corner and opened fire on the uniformed service members without warning, according to Metropolitan Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll.

“It appears … to be a lone gunman,” Carroll said. Fellow National Guard personnel nearby rushed toward the gunfire and subdued the suspect, who was also wounded and transported to a hospital.

The incident briefly placed the White House on lockdown and prompted a rapid response from federal and local agencies, including the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Homeland Security.

A suspect with asylum status granted in 2025

Multiple law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who arrived from Afghanistan in September 2021 and later applied for asylum. According to three officials familiar with the case, he was granted asylum in April 2025 — under the Trump administration.

Despite that timeline, Trump criticized the prior administration during a televised address, claiming the shooting underscored what he called “the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.” He said the U.S. should “reexamine every single alien from Afghanistan who has entered our country under Biden.”

Within minutes of Trump’s remarks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that all immigration processing related to Afghan nationals was suspended indefinitely pending a review of “security and vetting protocols.”

The FBI is investigating the attack as a potential act of international terrorism, officials said, though no motive has been confirmed.

Confusion over victims’ conditions

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice initially said the Guard members had died, before later noting “conflicting information” about their conditions. Maj. Gen. Tim Seward, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, credited the “swift, courageous” actions of other troops at the scene for stopping the gunman and preventing further casualties.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the shooter “appeared to target” the Guardsmen, who were among more than 2,100 personnel deployed to the capital as part of Trump’s federal takeover of D.C. law enforcement announced in August.

Political reverberations

Trump, speaking from Florida, said the attacker “will pay a very steep price,” while praising the Guard and law enforcement as “truly great people.”

At a separate event in Kentucky, Vice President JD Vance told troops that the nation was still seeking answers.

“It’s a somber reminder that soldiers … are the sword and the shield of the United States,” he said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he would send an additional 500 National Guard personnel to Washington at Trump’s direction, calling the shooting a “cowardly, dastardly act.”

Gen. Steven Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said he and senior enlisted leaders were traveling to Washington to meet with the deployed troops. “We are devastated by this senseless act of violence,” he said.

Federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials are expected to release more details about the suspect and the investigation on Thursday.

Analysis: U.S.-Backed Warning Says Al-Shabaab’s Advance Now Threatens Mogadishu as Somalia’s Federal Order Fractures.

A new assessment from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies warns that al-Shabaab’s sweeping gains across central Somalia have brought the militant group closer to Mogadishu than at any point in more than a decade, raising the once-unthinkable prospect that the capital could fall if the political crisis deepens and security forces continue to erode.

The brief — authored by Horn of Africa analyst Matt Bryden — argues that al-Shabaab’s advances have coincided with a rapid breakdown of cooperation between Villa Somalia and federal member states, creating a security and political vacuum that the militants have exploited with increasing speed.

According to the report, al-Shabaab now controls roughly a third of Somali territory and has pushed to within 50 kilometers of the capital after reclaiming nearly all areas lost during the 2023 government offensive.

Diplomats have reportedly evacuated nonessential staff to Nairobi as militants set up roadblocks on key approaches to Mogadishu, pausing only to consolidate control in Middle Shabelle.

An October suicide raid on the National Intelligence and Security Agency — less than a kilometer from the presidential compound — underscored what the brief calls “the capital’s extraordinary vulnerability.”

The report portrays Somalia’s security forces as exhausted and overstretched. Defense officials recently acknowledged that up to 15,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded in three years.

The army’s reliance on elite units, chronic corruption and clan favoritism, and the collapse of momentum following last year’s offensive have left the government struggling to hold territory without foreign backing.

Even that support is faltering. The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission, AUSSOM, has received only a fraction of its budget, carrying more than $100 million in arrears.

Without emergency funding, the mission may be forced to retreat to guarding only the airport, port, and Mogadishu’s diplomatic enclave — leaving the capital exposed.

The security crisis is mirrored by a political rupture that Bryden describes as the unraveling of Somalia’s federal bargain. The Provisional Constitution envisioned power-sharing between Mogadishu and member states, anchored by four major port economies.

But successive presidents have concentrated power at the center, a trend the brief says reached its peak under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s second term, with controversial constitutional amendments and political maneuvering ahead of the 2026 elections.

Puntland and Jubaland have suspended cooperation, withdrawn recognition of federal authority, and warned that any extension of Hassan Sheikh’s term would trigger a constitutional crisis.

Opposition groups say the presidency’s current trajectory risks splitting the country into rival governments — one centered in Mogadishu, another around the more stable administrations in Puntland and Jubaland.

The report warns that even without a battlefield takeover, Somalia could drift toward an illiberal Islamist state. Political Islamists — including factions linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi movements — already occupy key positions across government and religious institutions.

Al-I’tisaam’s influence over major businesses, religious networks, and parts of the security apparatus is growing, while new constitutional amendments shaped by Salafi clerics could undermine human rights protections.

Foreign involvement is further amplifying domestic fractures. Qatar and Türkiye back Islamist-aligned leaders in Mogadishu and have become deeply embedded in the capital’s security and infrastructure.

Türkiye now manages Mogadishu’s port and airport, trains elite security units, and has signed extensive maritime and energy deals — including plans for a missile-testing and space-launch site on the coast.

The UAE, Ethiopia, and Kenya, meanwhile, maintain closer ties with Somaliland, Puntland, and Jubaland. Emirati-managed ports at Berbera and Bosaaso have strengthened regional economies, while Ethiopian and Kenyan security forces depend on their northern partners for border stability.

Somaliland — long operating as a de facto independent state — stands at the center of this geopolitical map.

The brief notes that if southern Somalia collapses further or falls to al-Shabaab, international pressure to revisit Somaliland’s status may intensify, echoing a 2005 African Union mission that described its case for recognition as “historically unique and self-justified.”

The report outlines two potential paths. One is an emergency political reset: a government of national unity, a return to the original constitutional text, an indirect election by May 2026, and a revival of the security architecture that places federal member state forces and community militias at the center of the counterinsurgency.

The alternative is a collapse-and-containment scenario in which al-Shabaab captures Mogadishu — along with its port revenues and military hardware — forcing Puntland, Jubaland, Hiiraan, and allied administrations to form a provisional government elsewhere with backing from Ethiopia, Kenya, the UAE, and Western partners.

The brief concludes that Somalia’s fate will be determined less by what happens on the battlefield and more by whether political leaders can salvage the federal compact. Without cooperation, it warns, the black flag Somalia fought for decades to remove from its capital could return — this time backed by the country’s own fragmentation.