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Issue 439 of Islamic State (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba', published on April 18, 2024, includes an "exclusive" article reporting on the ISIS Somalia Province's advances against Al-Qaeda affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab) in northeastern Somalia. According to an "exclusive source," the "second phase" of the Somalia Province's campaign against Al-Shabab lasted from mid-Rajab to the end of Ramadan (January to April), and resulted in the expulsion of the "apostate militia" from the Cal Miskaad mountain in the Bari region of northeastern Somalia, as well as in the killing and wounding of more than 50 Al-Shabab members.
Preliminary Small-Scale Attacks On Al-Shabab
The campaign began on January 28, when ISIS operatives armed with machine guns repelled an attempted Al-Shabab advance in the Walisoor valley, killing at least two operatives, wounding others, and capturing weapons and ammunition.
On February 9, ISIS fighters shelled Al-Shabab positions in the Gidxin area, injuring four operatives. On February 19, ISIS fighters again attacked Gidxin, gaining control over the area after Al-Shabab fighters fled.
On February 21 and 25, ISIS operatives ambushed Al-Shabab fighters who were on their way to plant IEDs "on Muslim roads," causing them to flee.
Capturing Areas From Al-Shabab
ISIS fighters gained control over another area on March 3, after attacking Al-Shabab fighters with machine guns, injuring some and leading the others to flee. The attackers captured assorted ammunition and military equipment.
On March 5, ISIS operatives armed with assorted weapons launched a "violent attack" on other Al-Shabab positions, killing six fighters and wounding about ten others. After the remaining Al-Shabab fighters fled, the attackers seized control over the area, capturing various weapons and ammunition. During the rest of March, ISIS continued its clashes and shelling against Al-Shabab, killing and wounding about 15 operatives.
Expelling Al-Shabab From Cal Miskaad
The article states: "The mujahideen continued to pursue the enemy until they reached deep inside the areas where they had holed up," and the defensive trenches and barricades which Al-Shabab had built "did not avail them at all, by Allah's grace." On the night of March 31, ISIS fighters armed with various weapons attacked a "key position" of Al-Shabab near Geeso-Qabad, killing a "senior commander" and four operatives and wounding more than ten others, as well as capturing assorted weapons and ammunition.
One of the Al-Shabab fighters killed in the attack
Following this attack, "Allah struck terror into the hearts of the apostates," who began to abandon their positions and flee the region. As "the mujahideen's pressure on them continued" due to repeated shelling and clashes, Al-Shabab fighters finally left all their positions in the Cal Miskaad region at the end of Ramadan, whose last day was April 9.
Attempts To Convince Al-Shabab To "Repent"; Preaching To Inhabitants Of Captured Villages
The ISIS source added that the heat of the battles against Al-Shabab "did not prevent the soldiers of the caliphate from providing advice to them whenever the opportunity presented itself," as during the previous two months ISIS fighters repeatedly called on members of the rival group to "repent from their apostasy, and warned them of the danger of continuing to walk through this dark tunnel of subservience and loyalty to the apostate Taliban militia." ISIS also attempted to open communication with Al-Shabab commanders "to advise and remind them," but these efforts were met with "arrogance and aggression."
The "soldiers of the caliphate" organized several da'wah [preaching] tours in some of the villages they had captured during Ramadan. They also prayed Eid Al-Fitr prayers with villagers, distributed gifts, and slaughter animals for them.
An "exclusive" photo showing ISIS operatives in an area captured from Al-Shabab; some of the terrain was digitally blurred to prevent identification.
Infographic Poster Summarizing Campaign
The Al-Naba' issue also contained an infographic poster summarizing the campaign against Al-Shabab. The poster quotes from the March 28 speech by ISIS spokesman Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari, in which he commended ISIS fighters in Somalia for "repelling the attack of the crusaders and apostates" and congratulated them for "their recent victories against the apostate militias," urging them to remain steadfast and "transfer the war to your enemy's lands."
In February, ISIS reported advances against Al-Shabab in northeastern Somalia during a long campaign that lasted throughout 2023.
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