Somali forces end bloody hotel siege, leaving all al-Shabab militants dead

Somali security forces have successfully ended a 24-hour siege at a hotel in Beledweyne, central Somalia, killing all attackers from the U.S.-designated terrorist group, al-Shabab.
The siege, which began with a car bomb and was followed by a gun battle, left at least 10 dead, including military officers and clan elders. The attackers, from the al-Shabab militant group, had targeted the hotel where clan leaders from the Hiran region and security officials were meeting to discuss anti-al-Shabab strategies. During the siege, four militants blew themselves up, while two were shot dead by security forces.
Hours after the siege was concluded, Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) announced a series of airstrikes carried out by Somali forces and supported by international partners, killing at least 50 al-Shabab militants in the Hirshabelle region. Among those killed was Mansoor Tima-Weeyne, a senior al-Shabab leader, who had been in charge of the preparation and use of combat vehicles for the group’s terrorist attacks.
Somalia’s military operation against al-Shabab, part of an ongoing “total war” against the militant group declared by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in 2022, continues to gain momentum. Somali authorities are intensifying efforts to neutralize the militant threat, aiming to push back al-Shabab’s control over the country’s key regions. The city of Beledweyne has suffered more terrorist attacks than any other in the Horn of Africa country except Mogadishu. Since 2009, hundreds of people across the nation have been killed in suicide attacks and car bombs on hotels, restaurants and government bases.