The Islamic State in Somalia’s Area of Operations

The Islamic State Somalia Province was formed in 2015 when a faction of al Shabaab defected and pledged allegiance to then Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.  The Islamic State’s central commander recognized the Somalia Province as an official branch in 2017. The group has since become a key administrative node in IS’s global network since, including external attack planning. ISS hosts the regional East Africa IS office, al Karrar, which oversees financing, training, and other support for the group’s personnel. ISS generates millions of dollars per year in extortion and illegal taxes to disperse funding and trainers around in Africa and elsewhere, including to IS Khorasan Province in Afghanistan and IS affiliates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, and Yemen. ISS’s influence in the global IS network has grown in recent years, drawing foreign fighters from the Middle East and claims from unspecified US officials and analysts  in 2024 that ISS leader Abdulqadir Mumin serves as the Islamic State’s global operational and administrative leader. ISS directly supports external IS attack plots due to its role as an administrative, foreign fighter, and leadership hub.

June 2025 Update

Security forces in Puntland launched a counterinsurgency campaign against ISS in early 2025, but ISS will likely be able to reconstitute if the offensive does not significantly degrade the group’s revenue streams or maintain pressure on ISS’s porous support zones. Security forces in Puntland have recaptured dozens of ISS outposts and killed hundreds of ISS fighters. The United States has conducted multiple airstrikes targeting senior ISS leaders in Puntland in support of the offensive. The campaign has disrupted ISS operations but the group’s international reach and the challenging terrain in Puntland provides ISS with opportunities to regroup and gain new recruits. ISS conducted its deadliest attack to date targeting Puntland security forces in January 2025 in response to the offensive.

You can read regular in-depth analysis on the fight against the Islamic State in Somalia in CTP’s weekly Africa File.

You can find CTP's interactive map on al Shabaab here.

Map updated June 1, 2025

Contested Support Zone: An area where multiple groups conduct offensive and defensive maneuvers. A group may be able to conduct effective logistics and administrative support of forces but has inconsistent access to local populations and key terrain.

Support Zone: An area where a group is not subject to significant enemy action and can conduct effective logistics and administrative support of forces.

Methodology Note: The Critical Threats Project adapts its mapping definitions for insurgencies from US military doctrine, including US Army FM 7-100.1 Opposing Force Operations. Our maps are assessments and reflect analysts’ judgment based on current and historical open-source information on security incidents and political and governance activity as well as population and geographic factors. Please contact us for more information on specific maps.

Static maps available upon request.