(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Donald Trump announced Saturday afternoon that he ordered a precision military airstrike against ISIS in Somalia, marking his first major military operation since taking office on Jan. 20.
The airstrike targeted ISIS–Somalia in the Golis mountains, a remote region in the semi-autonomous Puntland region. The strike killed several terrorists without harming civilians, Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said.
Trump declared on X and Truth Social that these “killers” posed a dire threat to the U.S. and its allies in the region. The terrorists were busted hiding in caves.
The commander-in-chief called out his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for initially orchestrating the attack but failing to follow through. Biden “wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done,” Trump said, adding: “I did!”
The Republican president also issued a blunt warning to terrorists around the globe: “The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that ‘WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!’”
This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia. These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies. The strikes destroyed the caves they live in,…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2025
Hegseth confirmed the strike significantly degraded ISIS’s ability to conduct attacks against the U.S. and its allies.
He said the airstrike “sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct robust border-protection and many other operations under President Trump’s leadership.”
U.S. Forces Conduct Strike Targeting ISIS-Somalia
In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted airstrikes against ISIS-Somalia on Feb. 1, 2025.https://t.co/4zg8XnMIw9 pic.twitter.com/ntgiwiHR50
— U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) (@USAfricaCommand) February 1, 2025
ISIS Somalia was formed by defectors from Al Shabab, an al-Qaeda-tied terrorist group with a much bigger reach in Somalia.
According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ISIS Somalia adheres to ISIS’s strict interpretation of Islamic law and seeks to extend its so-called caliphate in Africa.
The terrorist organization has between 100 and 400 members and gets revenue through extortion tactics on local businesses and raiding nearby villages.
In contrast, Al Shabab has between 7,000 and 12,000 soldiers and over $100 million in revenue, according to the African Center for Strategic Studies.
