Washington D.C. – In a sweeping move to disrupt the financial lifelines of the Islamic State (ISIS) across Africa, the United States and six Gulf nations have jointly imposed sanctions on three individuals accused of bankrolling the group’s operations—including the longtime leader of its Somali branch. The coordinated action, unveiled Monday, marks a significant international effort to counter the militant group’s growing reach on the continent.
The sanctions were announced by the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), a coalition launched in 2017 that includes the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. The TFTC’s mission centers on intelligence sharing, capacity building, and enforcing sanctions to choke off extremist funding.
At the heart of this latest round of designations is Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, identified as the head of ISIS-Somalia and the group’s chief financial officer since 2019. According to the U.S. Treasury, Yusuf has overseen the group’s fundraising operations, extracting millions of dollars through extortion schemes targeting businesses, livestock markets, imported goods, and agricultural activity—particularly in Puntland and the capital, Mogadishu.
In 2021 alone, ISIS-Somalia extorted approximately $2.5 million, with an additional $2 million raised in the first half of 2022. U.S. officials say the funds not only bankrolled ISIS activities inside Somalia but also fueled insurgencies in countries like Uganda, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“Today’s joint action underscores our shared commitment to disrupting the ability of ISIS and other terrorist groups to access the international financial system wherever they seek to operate,” said Bradley T. Smith, the acting U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
A key node in a global network
U.S. intelligence describes Yusuf as a central figure in ISIS-Somalia’s leadership, reporting directly to both Abdirahman Fahiye Isse Mohamud, the group’s current emir, and Abdiqadir Mu’min, the group’s founder who now heads the Al-Karrar Office—a regional command post responsible for financial and operational coordination across East and Central Africa.
Through this network, funds raised in Somalia are funneled through Al-Karrar and redistributed under ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces (GDP) to affiliate groups throughout the region. The system has sustained militant operations in areas like Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) and Mozambique Province, both of which have launched high-profile attacks in recent years.
The sanctions freeze any U.S.-linked assets held by the individuals and prohibit American citizens and entities from conducting business with them. Notably, Yusuf had already been designated under Executive Order 13224 by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in July 2023, a measure targeting those providing material support to terrorist groups.
Two other individuals were sanctioned alongside Yusuf: Hamidah Nabagala, a financier based in the DRC, and Zayd Gangat, a facilitator and trainer operating out of South Africa.
Nabagala is accused of funding the October 2021 bombing in Kampala, Uganda, which left one person dead and at least three injured. U.S. officials also allege that she tried to send her children to ISIS training camps in eastern Congo and wired funds to an operative who was later arrested by Ugandan authorities. The attack in Kampala, claimed by ISCAP, underscored the rising danger posed by ISIS-aligned groups in East Africa.
Gangat, meanwhile, is believed to have been involved in ISIS recruitment and training in South Africa. He reportedly played a key role in raising funds through criminal enterprises, including armed robbery, extortion, and kidnapping-for-ransom. Counterterrorism officials increasingly view South Africa as a logistical and financial base for extremist groups operating across the continent.
Somalia’s ongoing battle
ISIS-Somalia remains active mainly in the Bari region of Puntland, where it has historically relied on extortion and targeted killings to finance its operations. While significantly smaller in size than its rival, the al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab, ISIS-Somalia holds strategic importance in the eyes of U.S. officials, primarily due to its financial role in linking ISIS networks from Mozambique to the Sahel.
In response, Puntland authorities have escalated their military campaign against the group. Since late 2024, Puntland’s security forces have waged Operation Hilaac—meaning “Lightning”—a sustained offensive to dismantle ISIS strongholds in the rugged Cal Miskaad mountains. Now in its fourth phase, the operation has reportedly resulted in the deaths of dozens of militants and the recapture of major bases, including Buqa Caleed and Togga Miraale.
A particularly significant strike in June saw Puntland’s elite Dervish forces kill more than 35 fighters—among them foreign operatives—and seize weapons caches in the Miraale-Balade corridor, a strategic passage in northern Somalia.
Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni has accused ISIS of draining millions from local communities through criminal rackets, warning that the group’s financial web poses a long-term threat to regional stability. The combination of local military pressure and targeted international sanctions is now seen as a critical strategy to cut off ISIS-Somalia’s access to resources and diminish its ability to coordinate across borders.