The month of May saw a relative spike in Islamic State claims inside Somalia compared to earlier months. However, this comes in the backdrop of several Puntland security operations against it.
The Al Qaeda branch claims its men enacted “heavy losses” to AMISOM and Kenyan troops in southern Somalia. African Union troops and the Somali government have stated otherwise, however.
Houthis report to have captured an al Qaeda base in one of its historical strongholds in the country. No independent verification of this event, however, has yet been reported.
The two jihadist groups continue their rampage in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
The Islamic State in Syria has drawn on Maldivian jihadists since 2014, now it seems the group’s violence has spread back to the island nation.
The group celebrates a March 2014 bombing which killed two Bahraini and one Emirati policemen.
The attack in Mali’s northern Gao region is one of the deadliest in recent months.
The capture of large parts of al Jawf allows the Houthis to focus on neighboring Ma’rib, where the internationally recognized Hadi government contests for power in the north.
