AFRICOM Commander Visits Somalia’s Puntland Region, Calls To ‘Intensify’ War Against ISIS Affiliate

Gen. Dagvin Anderson, the commander of US Africa Command, visited Somalia’s Puntland region late last month and called for the US-backed war against the small ISIS affiliate in the area to be “intensified,” according to a press release from AFRICOM.

The US has dramatically escalated its air campaign in Somalia this year, launching at least 102 airstrikes, an unprecedented number. According to AFRICOM, 59 of those strikes were launched against the ISIS affiliate, which is based in caves in a remote mountainous region in Puntland.

The US supports local military forces in Puntland because the region is not under the control of the US-backed Federal Government, which is based in Mogadishu. During his visit to Puntland, Anderson met with the region’s vice president, Ilyas Osman Lugatoor, and Gen. Adan Abdi Hashi, the chief of Puntland’s Defense Forces.