Qandala campaign

Qandala campaign
Part of the War against the Islamic State and the War in Somalia

An IS-Somalia fighter hoists his group's flag over Qandala on the same building where Somali folk hero Ali Fahiye Gedi was imprisoned during the colonial era.
Date26 October – 18 December 2016[1]
(1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Qandala, Bari, Somalia
Result Tactical Puntland victory; major IS-Somalia propaganda success[2]
Belligerents
Islamic State in Somalia (IS-Somalia)  Puntland
Commanders and leaders
Sheikh Abdul Qadir Mumin[3]
(leader of IS-Somalia)
Mahad Maoallim[4]
(IS-Somalia senior commander)		 Puntland Shire Haji Farah[4]
(Minister of Planning and International Relations)
Puntland Yusuf Mohamed Dhedo[5]
(Bari region governor)
Puntland Admiral Abdirizak Dirie Farah[1]
(Puntland Maritime Police commander)
Units involved
Unknown

Puntland Puntland Security Force

Clan militias[4]
Strength
Unknown[a] Puntland "Hundreds" of fighters,[8] several gunboats[6]
Casualties and losses
30 killed, 35 wounded,[4] several captured[9] (government claim) 3+ wounded[5]
25,700+ displaced[10]

The Qandala campaign began when the Islamic State in Somalia (ISS) attacked and captured the town of Qandala in Bari, Puntland, Somalia on 26 October 2016. This takeover resulted in the displacement of over 25,700 civilians and an eventual counter-offensive by the Puntland Security Force, which succeeded in driving ISS from Qandala on 7 December, and thereafter government units continued to attack the militants' hideouts in the nearby mountains until 18 December. The fall of Qandala was the second time that an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-affiliated group had captured a town in Somalia, but whereas the first takeover had lasted only for a very short time,[11] ISS had managed to hold Qandala, a town of both major strategic as well as symbolic importance, for over a month.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Mohamed Olad Hassan (19 December 2016). "Regional Somali Forces 'Destroy' Islamic State Base". Voice of America. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Warner (2017), p. 30.
  3. ^ Caleb Weiss (28 October 2016). "Islamic State fighters withdraw from captured Somali port town". Long War Journal. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e Harun Maruf (7 December 2016). "Forces Retake Somali Town Held by Pro-Islamic State Fighters". Voice of America. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Harun Maruf (3 December 2016). "Somalia Security Forces and IS Fighters Directly Clash for First Time". Voice of America. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Harun Maruf (28 October 2016). "Somali Officials Vow to Retake Puntland Town". Voice of America. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  7. ^ Harun Maruf (26 October 2016). "IS Militants Seize Town in Somalia's Puntland". Voice of America. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Somalia: Puntland Forces Retake Qandala Town From Isis". AllAfrica.com. 4 December 2016. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Somalia: Seven Militants Killed in Qandala Battle". AllAfrica.com. 4 December 2016. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Somalia: UN - Fighting Near Qandala Town Displaces 25,700". AllAfrica.com. 8 December 2016. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  11. ^ Caleb Weiss (9 February 2017). "Islamic State claims hotel attack in northern Somalia". Long War Journal. Retrieved 10 February 2017.


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