Scores of IS fighters killed in northern Somalia

Security forces in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region said Wednesday they had killed scores of fighters linked to the Islamic State group (IS) in heavy fighting in the mountains.

It was the latest in a string of clashes since Puntland authorities, sometimes backed by US forces, launched an offensive against IS-linked militias in December.

Military officials said Puntland forces repelled a two-pronged attack on one of their bases by heavily-armed IS-linked fighters in the Cal Miskaad mountains and were continuing to rout them after 24 hours of fighting.

"The enemy was defeated in both directions," with regional forces estimating that they killed up to 65 of the attackers in the assault, Puntland army spokesman Mohamud Faadhigo told a news conference.

He said Puntland forces were thought to have killed other fighters hiding in caves, adding that the fighting was "not over yet".

Another commander, Abdikadir Farah, told AFP by phone that more than 20 Puntland soldiers were killed.

Two attackers rammed an army base with a car loaded with explosives, another commander, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

He said the attack on the base was ultimately "foiled", but described the fighting as "very heavy."

He said several fighters wearing explosive vests blew themselves up "and inflicted some of the casualties on the army."

US-backed forces crushed IS in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq in 2019. It has a relatively small presence in Somalia compared to the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group, but experts have warned of growing IS-linked activity.

The Puntland Defence Forces launched a wave of operations against IS in December.

US President Donald Trump said earlier this month that the American military had launched air strikes on senior IS figures in the region.

Puntland's regional government said those strikes in the Golis mountains had killed "key figures" in IS.