At least 20 soldiers were killed and more than 30 injured during fighting this past Friday against the last strongholds of the jihadist organization Islamic State in the separatist Somali state of Puntland.
Security sources told the news site Hiraan on Line that the fighting began when Puntland forces launched a massive assault on the jihadist stronghold in the Balade Valley on the country's northern coast.
The target was one of the largest Islamic State arsenals in the entire Bari region, which also served as a supply base for the extremist organization, a force to be reckoned with in Somalia, although small in comparison to its main rival, the jihadist group Al Shabaab, affiliated with Al Qaeda.
The fighting, the most violent in months, lasted for hours and ceased at dusk, but Puntland forces continue to surround the area where, according to the website's sources, Islamic State fighters are using women and children as human shields.
Military authorities in Puntland, a state that last year declared its withdrawal from the government over constitutional reforms, have declared themselves convinced that the valley is home to the last remaining strongholds of the Islamic State group in the region and have expressed hope that the group will be completely "dismantled" by Saturday.
