Somalia state forces retake coastal town from pro-IS militants

Somalia's Puntland state forces on Wednesday recaptured the coastal town of Qandala in Bari region from militants loyal to the Islamic State (IS) group, who had been occupying the town since late October, a local official said Wednesday.

Minister of Planning for Puntland State, Shire Haji Farah, told reporters that the forces -- from land and sea -- took control of the town in northern Somalia without fighting early Wednesday as the militants fled.

Farah said at least 30 militants had been killed and 35 others injured in the past days in fighting near Qandala.

"The militants suffered heavy casualties at Bashashin area. Some of our forces sustained light injuries and were rushed to the hospital," Farah said, adding three armoured vehicles had been recovered from the militants.

The pro-IS militants took Qandala on October 26. Puntland forces launched an operation to retake the town on December 3.

According to local community sources and humanitarian partners, there was an hour-long battle on Monday between the militants and Puntland forces.

Independent sources said there were airstrikes on targets of the pro-IS group during the operation this week.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Wednesday that fighting between the two sides had displaced 25, 700 people since late October.

Farah called on residents displaced from the town to return to their homes.

There was no immediate comment from the pro-IS militants, led by Abdulkadir Mumin, a preacher formerly based in Britain.

The pro-IS group in October 2015 split from Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaida-linked Islamist group that has been battling the Somali government for a decade.

Al-Shabaab controls areas in southern and central Somalia and stages frequent attacks in the country.

Puntland has been relatively stable compared to the rest of Somalia, yet Islamist groups pose a threat. Endit