Senior Islamic State Somalia Commander Captured in Puntland

A senior commander of Islamic State’s Somalia wing was captured on Monday, police and state media said, two days after the IS leadership was targeted with U.S. airstrikes and as security forces continue a weeks-long offensive against them. In the last few years Somalia’s IS franchise has become an increasingly important part of the jihadist group’s worldwide network, growing in strength because of an influx of foreign fighters and improved revenue collection…Abdirahman Shirwac Aw-Saciid, head of the group’s assassination squad, surrendered to authorities on Monday in the Cal Miskaad mountains, in the northeastern Puntland state, Somalia’s state news agency SONNA reported…Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region announced a major offensive against Islamic State and a rival Islamist group, the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, in December and claims to have since captured several IS bases. An initial assessment of Saturday’s airstrikes by the U.S. indicated many militants were killed, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Sunday. (Reuters)