The George Washington University Program on Extremism published on 2 March 2023 an analysis titled "The Death of Bilal al-Sudani and Its Impact on Islamic State Operations" by Tricia Bacon and Austin C. Doctor.
In January 2023, US forces conducted an operation in northern Somalia that killed Bilal al-Sudani, an important operative for the Islamic State. He was a key financial facilitator for the Islamic State in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Consequently, the Islamic State in Somalia will lose some of its value as a facilitation hub for its global networks, but it will not be significantly weakened in Somalia.
