U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) Commander Gen. Michael Langley issued a stark warning: ISIS is using Somalia as a base to run a global network. “If left unchecked,” Langley said, “they will have a direct effect on the homeland.”
His comments underscore growing international concern over the evolving threat of the Islamic State’s East Africa Province (IS-Somalia) and the group’s deepening ties across the African continent.
Langley emphasized that AFRICOM’s strategy is centered on building the operational capabilities of African partners through security cooperation.
This, he stated, is essential to preventing ISIS from expanding its influence and operational reach.ISIS initially gained global attention in 2014 after capturing vast territories in Iraq and Syria.
By 2015, however, it began losing those strongholds and shifted its operational focus to fragile and remote regions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This expansion has drawn the attention of U.S. authorities. On July 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned three ISIS financial facilitators operating in Africa: Hamidah Nabagala (Ugandan national based in DRC), Abubakar Swalleh, and Zayd Gangat (both South African nationals).
The sanctions accuse the three of directing and transferring funds to ISIS branches in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Mozambique.
Nabagala, in particular, has been linked to the October 2021 bombings in Kampala, Uganda, targeting Parliament and the Central Police Station. Both Ugandan and U.S. intelligence believe she played a key role in planning and funding the attacks.
In Somalia, especially in the Puntland region, security forces have faced intense clashes with ISIS militants entrenched in the rugged Cal Miskaad Mountains. During a recent counter-terrorism operation, Puntland forces recovered several foreign passports from ISIS hideouts — including multiple South African passports.
This discovery provides further evidence of the group’s international reach and aligns with U.S. Treasury findings that South African nationals are involved in ISIS’s financing networks.The situation escalated on February 1, 2025, when the U.S. carried out precision airstrikes in the Cal Miskaad range.
Among those killed was an Omani national identified as an ISIS recruiter and financier. U.S. intelligence later connected the individual to regional ISIS fundraising cells, with links to operatives in both Oman and South Africa.
These developments suggest a troubling convergence: ISIS’s operational base in Somalia is not only a launchpad for regional attacks but also a financial and logistical hub supported by global networks, particularly with nodes in Southern Africa.
The discovery of South African passports in Puntland, when viewed alongside the U.S. sanctions, points to a broader and more coordinated ISIS network than previously understood.
The financial and human capital flowing through these networks could allow the group to sustain operations, recruit fighters, and orchestrate attacks beyond Africa.
The link between the passports and the sanctioned individuals highlights the necessity for regional and international intelligence collaboration, especially between Somalia, South Africa, and Western security agencies.
As AFRICOM and Somali forces continue operations against ISIS strongholds, dismantling these cross-border financial and recruitment channels remains a top priority in the fight against terrorism in East Africa.
