Islamic State – Somalia Province
The Islamic State – Somalia Province or Abnaa ul-Calipha is an Islamic State–affiliated group that primarily operates in the mountainous areas of Puntland, and which has also claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks throughout the rest of Somalia. Led by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Mumin, the group is estimated to have up to 300 active fighters. Since its formation, ISS probably managed to take control of a small, sparsely populated territory in northern Somalia's mountainous hinterland, though it was not acknowledged as official province ("Wilayat") by IS's central leadership until December 2017. Since then, it has sometimes been called Somalia Province by pro-IS media. ISS is also the declared enemy of al-Shabaab, which considers the Islamic State a significant threat to its own predominance among Jihadist factions in Somalia.
ISS launched an unsuccessful attack on the Village Hotel in Bosaso in February 2017
Territory of the Islamic State
The Islamic State (IS) had its core in Iraq and Syria from 2013 to 2017 and 2019 respectively, where the proto-state controlled significant swathes of urban, rural, and desert territory, mainly in the Mesopotamian region. Today the group controls scattered pockets of land in the area, as well as territory or insurgent cells in other areas, notably Afghanistan, West Africa, the Sahara, Somalia, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2023, large swathes of Mali have fallen under IS control.
A building in Marawi set ablaze after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine Air Force to conduct airstrikes against IS insurgents in the city during the Battle of Marawi