U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he ordered airstrikes against ISIS fighters in Somalia’s Golis Mountains on February 1, marking the first military strike in the African nation during his second term.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump hailed the “precision” of the strikes, stating that the operation successfully targeted “a senior ISIS attack planner”.
“The airstrikes destroyed their cave hideouts and eliminated multiple terrorists without harming civilians,” Trump wrote.
Symbolic Strike or Strategic Move?
The White House declined to provide further details about the operation, including the exact number of ISIS fighters killed. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that initial Pentagon assessments indicated that multiple ISIS militants were eliminated with no civilian casualties.
According to three Defense Department officials cited by The New York Times, the strikes were conducted by U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft, including F/A-18 fighter jets launched from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman operating in the Red Sea.
“This action further weakens ISIS’s ability to plan and execute terrorist attacks that threaten American citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians,” Hegseth said.
However, some U.S. military and defense officials suggested the airstrikes were more symbolic than strategic, designed to bolster Trump’s image as a strong commander-in-chief in his early days in office, rather than to neutralize a significant threat, The Guardian reported.
On January 30, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that a previous airstrike in northwest Syria had killed a senior leader of Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda affiliate.
The February 1 strikes in Somalia, however, represented a much larger-scale operation, military officials said.
Rising ISIS Concerns in Somalia
Trump claimed in his social media post that the strikes eliminated a senior ISIS attack planner and several terrorists he recruited, who were “hiding in caves.”
Somalia is better known for the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al-Shabaab, rather than ISIS. U.S. intelligence estimates suggest Al-Shabaab has between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters and generates $120 million annually through illegal taxation and extortion, making it the largest and wealthiest al-Qaeda affiliate worldwide.
However, recent events—such as a New Year’s Day ISIS-inspired attack by a former U.S. Army soldier in New Orleans and concerns over a potential ISIS resurgence in Syria—have prompted counterterrorism experts to warn the new administration about growing threats.
“For Trump, it’s crucial to show a strong response, especially if he plans to pull U.S. troops out of conflict zones,” said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a New York-based security consultancy.
What Comes Next?
During his first term, Trump withdrew approximately 700 U.S. troops from Somalia in January 2021. His successor, President Joe Biden, later redeployed around 450 military personnel to train Somali forces—but not to conduct direct counterterrorism operations.
It remains unclear what Trump plans to do this time. Pentagon officials said the current U.S. military presence in Somalia is primarily for training local forces and not engaging in combat missions.
The February 1 airstrikes also come amid criticism that Trump’s deployment of active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to curb illegal migration could divert resources from counterterrorism efforts.
“We are ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the U.S. and our allies—even as we strengthen border security,” Defense Secretary Hegseth said.
Ongoing Counterterrorism Efforts
Northern Somalia remains a stronghold for ISIS operations.
In May 2024, the U.S. military conducted an airstrike in southeastern Bosaso, eliminating three militants. At the time, some analysts believed the target was a key global ISIS operations leader, though later intelligence suggested otherwise.
In January 2023, U.S. special forces raided a remote mountain cave in Puntland, northern Somalia, and killed ISIS senior leader Bilal al-Sudani, whom the Pentagon described as one of the terrorist group’s top financial operatives.
Al-Sudani had influence across Africa, Europe, and even Afghanistan, where ISIS-K carried out the deadly August 2021 Kabul airport bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.
That operation followed months of U.S. intelligence tracking. After locating al-Sudani’s hideout, the military monitored his activities before launching the raid.
During the mission, U.S. operatives seized laptops, hard drives, mobile phones, and other intelligence, which later provided key leads for other counterterrorism operations.
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