In what marks a historic victory against terrorism, ISIS is facing total annihilation, with over 200 militants eliminated in a series of precision airstrikes and military raids across Somalia’s Puntland region. The US in collaboration with Somalia Security Forces and partners have launched series of attacks, which have killed many ISIS fighters and destroyed its bases in Puntland. Kenya has also offered Somalia a helping hand in the fight against ISIS and Al-Shabaab as part of its contribution to the stabilization of the Horn of Africa country.
The terror group, which lured recruits from across the globe with false promises of purpose, wealth and brotherhood, is now crumbling from both within and as result of sustained counter terrorism operations by Somalia Security Forces and partners. Trapped in remote hideouts of Cal-Miskaad in Puntland region, starving and abandoned by their leaders, foreign fighters from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Europe and Middle East are now pleading for help—before they are executed by their own commanders or killed in the ongoing counterterrorism operations.
Military intelligence confirms that ISIS has reached a breaking point, with its remaining strongholds under relentless assault by Somali Security Forces and international allies. The global war against ISIS, once considered daunting, has now reached its final phase. As airstrikes and ground operations dismantle the group’s last hideouts, intercepted communications reveal the desperate cries of its recruits, many of whom now regret ever joining the terror group.
There is a near stampede of foreign fighters leaving ISIS over unmet promises and fear of being eliminated by the heightened security operations. From once revered ‘heroes’ to potentially prisoners of war, the foreign fighters are now looking for nothing other than escape route to save their lives. They have been abandoned by their leaders who tricked them into a life of suffering, brutality and lurking death. Foreign fighters are usually assigned demeaning tasks like cooking and risky operations like suicide bombers, which puts their lives in danger all the time. There have been cases where foreign fighters are accused of spying for foreign nations and assassinated after a decree from ISIS internal kangaroo court. It is becoming increasingly clear that joining ISIS is tantamount to signing a death sentence. For the ISIS returnees from Kenya, the government through National Counter Terrorism Centre, runs a robust rehabilitation program, which can benefit them before they are reintegrated to society. This can only happen if they formally denounce the terrorist group, lay down arms and surrender to the security agencies for processing. Meanwhile, Kenyan security agencies have heightened security along the common border with Somalia to prevent ISIS terrorists from seeking refuge in Kenya. As a friendly nation, Kenya is also supporting Somalia in fighting the terrorists through many ways including intelligence sharing.
As ISIS leaders flee or execute their own men to prevent defections, the scale of the terror group’s paranoia is becoming evident. Captured militants confirm that the organization, once rumoured to implement strict discipline and strategy, has collapsed into chaos. Somalia media has been awash with reports of hundreds of ISIS members who have denounced the group and defected to Somalia Security Forces for fear of repercussion. It is evident that it is only terror group leaders who benefit from this criminal enterprise, going by their lavish lifestyle from proceeds of crime especially extortion and illicit trade.
Both the defectors and insider sources paint a damning picture that ISIS has lost its glory due to its injustices to both members and other innocent people. Many of those executed were foreign fighters, lured from their home countries with visions of glory, only to be reduced to disposable pawns. Those who remain are starving, abandoned, and awaiting inevitable death. ISIS, once a force with potential to rival Al-Shabaab, is now a shattered remnant of itself, too weak to even protect its own fighters.
In a shocking turn, ISIS propaganda networks, once infamous for spreading fear and recruiting new members, have gone silent. Social media channels that once glorified their cause are now filled with cries for help from stranded fighters. Even former sympathizers have disappeared, unwilling to defend a crumbling empire that has turned against itself.
For years, ISIS thrived by exploiting instability across multiple regions, manipulating young men and women into believing they were part of something bigger. Now, that illusion has shattered, its receiving backlash making it difficult to attract recruits and those already members defecting en masse.
The Somali government, along with international allies, has vowed to wipe out the remaining cells of ISIS. With every successful military operation, the terrorist group’s last pockets of resistance shrink further. Reports from Puntland indicate that many ISIS fighters have already abandoned their positions, either surrendering or attempting to flee—but there is nowhere left to run.
Local communities, once terrorized by ISIS, have now turned against them. Somali clan leaders and residents are actively working with security forces, ensuring that no militant escapes justice. The Somali people, long plagued by the horrors of terrorism, are standing firm against ISIS, determined to help eliminate the last remnants of the group.
International security experts agree that the global war against ISIS has reached its most decisive moment. With its leadership collapsing, its fighters being eliminated and its ability to spread propaganda destroyed, ISIS has been reduced to a pale shadow of its former self. The airstrikes in Puntland, which took out over 200 militants, are part of a larger strategy that has successfully dismantled ISIS’s networks in Iraq, Syria and beyond.
Somalia is no longer a breeding ground for ISIS. With increased military cooperation, better intelligence-sharing and the unwavering resistance of its people, the country has shown that terrorism will not take root. Even former ISIS supporters are realizing the truth: there is no glory, no honor and no reward in fighting for terrorism cause. Those who once glorified ISIS have either been silenced or have turned against them, recognizing that their so-called ‘caliphate’ was nothing more than a death cult built on lies.
As military forces continue their offensive against ISIS, the remaining fighters are left with only two choices: surrender or face elimination. There is no future for them, no escape and no hope of revival. The world watches as the final chapter of ISIS unfolds, proving once and for all that terrorism leads only to suffering and destruction. Communities that were once under the grip of fear are reclaiming their lives, and nations that once bore the brunt of ISIS attacks are witnessing the group’s downfall. The message is clear: ISIS is finished. There is no paradise—only betrayal, misery, and death. The world is moving forward, and there is no place for terrorism in it.
