By Alex Crawford, special correspondent, in Somalia The roof of the cave where Islamic State militants sat cooking their food is still charred black. We see porcupine quills scattered around, giving an indication of what the extremists last ate here. There's a rough toilet, sleeping areas and a treasure trove of evidence about their lives on recovered phones and SIM cards. Porcupine quills litter the floor - evidence of a meal Porcupine quills litter the floor - evidence of a meal
These are just some of the hundreds of caves and mountain hideouts the Somali forces have discovered and routed in their offensive against the militants who've set up base in the north of the country.
The semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia is the unlikely global headquarters of a resurgent Islamic State, according to the Somalis and US commanders.
The evidence the Somali soldiers are uncovering points to a terror group that has evolved, adapted and is able to operate from remote mountain caves with devastating effect.
ISIS once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria right up until 2019.
The international community believed it had been crushed or at least critically wounded, but it is still very much alive and operating in northern Somalia...
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The Guardian
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