Troops and militia fighters have regained control of the port town of Qandala in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland after a battle between terrorist group ISIS and soldiers allied to the Western-backed Somali government took place last week, reported Reuters.
The conflict on Monday was in an area west of the port and took place after an insurgent counter-attack away from their stronghold in areas along the route to Qandala.
Mohamed Saiid, a Puntland military official involved in the operation, told Reuters: “Our forces attacked IS fighters in Obolohe valley today, killing three of their fighters and injuring two others.”
The Obolohe valley is on the outskirts of Bashaashin village and is 34 kilometres west of Qandala.
Saiid added: “Three were injured from our side. The [ISIS] fighters ran deeper into the hills.”
The militants are led by Abdiqadir Mumin, who left the main al Shabaab insurgency last year and swore allegiance to ISIS. Qandala is the first town that has been seized by the group, which has no known links to ISIS in the Middle East.
