Ethiopia arrests dozens of suspected Islamic State group militants, state media reports

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — an Ethiopian officer takes aim with an AK rifle during a training exercise in Hurso, Ethiopia, Dec. 27, 2006. (U.S. Navy Photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Eric A. Clement via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

ADDIS ABABA  -  Ethiopia has arrested dozens of suspected Islamic State militants, who it claimed have been trained and deployed to carry out operations across the country, the state-affiliated Fana broadcaster reported.

The 82 suspects were part of Islamic State's Somalia affiliate, which operates in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, according to a statement by the National Intelligence Security Services which was shared with Fana.

The Islamic State faction in Somalia has become an increasingly important part of its parent organisation's worldwide network in recent years.

"NISS has been closely monitoring the group's cross-border infiltration strategies and its efforts to establish sleeper cells in Ethiopia," Fana reported late on Tuesday.

With an estimated 700 to 1,500 fighters, Islamic State's Somalia wing has grown in recent years thanks to an influx of foreign fighters and increasing revenues. 

But it is still much smaller than al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant group, which controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.

The U.S. military has carried out periodic air strikes against the group for years and recently intensified the strikes since President Donald Trump took office.

Puntland government forces have captured large portions of territory from IS since announcing a major offensive against them in December.

(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Editing by Hereward Holland and Michael Perry // REUTERS)