Somali forces end 24-hour siege by al-Shabab militants on hotel

Somali security forces have ended a 24-hour siege at a hotel in the central city of Beledwyne, leaving an unknown number of people dead, including all the al-Shabab militants who launched the attack, officials said.

The attack began when a car bomb exploded on Tuesday at the Cairo Hotel, which houses traditional elders and military officers involved in coordinating the government’s offensive against al-Shabab.

The al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the assault.

Beledweyne, just over 200 miles north of the capital, Mogadishu, is the capital of the Hiran region and a strategic location in the ongoing campaign against al-Shabab.

Estimates of the death toll from the attack varied. One local resident, Muhsin Abdullahi, said six people, including two well-known traditional elders, were killed.

Footage shared on social media showed thick smoke rising from the hotel, with significant destruction to the building.

Al-Shabab, which opposes Somalia’s federal government, frequently carries out bombings and assaults targeting government officials and military personnel in the Horn of Africa nation.

The group controls parts of rural Somalia and poses a significant threat despite sustained military operations by government troops and African Union peacekeepers.