Somali security forces kill local Daesh leader in Puntland

Security forces in Somalia’s Puntland State have killed a senior leader of the Somali wing of the Daesh in Balidhidhin, a district in the northeastern Bari region, local authorities confirmed on Friday.

Abu-Albara Al Amani, an Ethiopian national, who was head of the group’s operations in Puntland, was killed in a foiled attack on an army base on Thursday night, Puntland Security Forces (PSF) said.

Al Amani, from the Amhara region of Ethiopia, forcefully recruited many of his countrymen into the group, police said.

The Daesh wing in Somalia has its main base in the Puntland State and has occasionally clashed with Puntland forces and al-Shabab militant group.