US ground raid captures Islamic State leader in northern Somaliathe ISIS-Somalia terrorist network in Somalia.” Though AFRICOM did not provide any additional details, officials in Somalia have filled in the gaps.

Through the official X account of Puntland’s counter-terrorism operations, the Puntland Defense Forces (PDF), who are leading the charge against the Islamic State’s franchise in northern Somalia, announced that Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, the finance emir for the group, was the target of the raid.

Yusuf was previously designated by the US Treasury Department in 2023, when US officials described him as also directing “the delivery of foreign fighters, supplies, and ammunition on behalf of ISIS.” Treasury also stated that “Yusuf was partially responsible for managing the revenue generated by ISIS-Somalia and has facilitated transfers for ISIS.”

While the US described Yusuf as Islamic State-Somalia’s (ISS) finance chief, Puntland officials state that he also oversaw the finances for the Islamic State’s Al Karrar regional office, one of several middle-management and coordination hubs set up around the world to help manage the Islamic State’s global affairs.

Al Karrar is co-located within ISS and is believed to be run by Abdul Qadir Mumin, the founder and first leader of ISS, who was replaced by Abdirahman Fahiye in that position.

The Al Karrar office provides support to other Islamic State groups, including its Central Africa Province in the Congo and Uganda, its Mozambique Province, and various support structures in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and elsewhere, with financial, technical, and logistical assistance. At times, Al Karrar has also helped Islamic State groups and networks in Yemen, Turkey, and Afghanistan.

The regional office was previously led by Bilal al Sudani, a Sudanese veteran of the Somali jihad, who was killed in a previous US raid in January 2023. That operation was the last American ground raid in northern Somalia until yesterday.

Puntland officials also announced that Yusuf was captured alongside two others, presumably his bodyguards, near the rural settlement of Laag in Puntland’s Iskushuban District. The reported location of the raid is far outside of the main areas of operation for the PDF, which is mainly concentrated in the Cal Miskaad Mountains to the southeast of the coastal city of Bosaso.

That a senior Islamic State-Somalia official was outside of where fierce battles are being fought with the PDF is unsurprising. Senior Islamic State officials are believed to have fled the area, seeking shelter elsewhere, including Mumin himself.

Yusuf’s capture is so far the most significant blow to ISS’s leadership, as many of the group’s most senior leaders have so far survived the battles. Several lesser ISS commanders, however, have been reported killed by Puntland military officials earlier this month. The United States also killed an Omani ISS leader in a drone strike earlier this year.

The United States, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has supported the PDF in its offensive against ISS since the effort began earlier this year. In addition to providing logistical aid and intelligence assistance, the US has conducted at least 32 airstrikes against ISS so far this year, according to data gathered by FDD’s Long War Journal.

The UAE has launched at least an additional 19 airstrikes against the group, though this number could be higher, as the UAE does not publicly announce such operations. UAE strikes are only confirmed through Puntland officials officially commenting on them.

Since coming back into office, President Donald Trump has drastically increased US military operations in Somalia. In addition to the strikes against ISS, at least an additional 22 strikes have also been conducted on Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s East African branch.

Though the raid to nab Abdiweli Yusuf was the first such ground operation in northern Somalia under Trump, it may not be the last, given the outsized importance that ISS plays to global Islamic State operations.

If it is true that Yusuf had a dual-hatted position as the finance chief for both ISS itself and the Al Karrar office, then his arrest, and the information gleaned from it, may have reverberations for the Islamic State across much of Africa and beyond.

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