Security forces in Somalia say they killed all six attackers who laid siege to a hotel in the central town of Beledweyne and later killed at least 50 al-Shabab militants in airstrikes.
Speaking to reporters, Beledweyne District Commissioner Omar Osman Alasow confirmed that the hotel siege ended early Wednesday.
“Our security forces successfully got rid of six militants who attacked a hotel where traditional elders and security officials were meeting,” he said.
Al-Shabab, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the hotel attack on Tuesday.
Alasow said the government soldiers backed by African Union troops worked through the night to rescue elders, military officers and civilians trapped inside the hotel.
“During 18 hours of siege, our brave soldiers shot dead two militants, and four of them desperately blew themselves up when they realized that they could not escape,” he said. “Seven other people, including government security officials and two prominent traditional elders, were killed.”
Since August 2022, when Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called for a “total war” against al-Shabab, Beledweyne, a town near Somalia’s border with Ethiopia in Hirshabelle state, about 300 kilometers north of Mogadishu, has been the center of a local community mobilization against al-Shabab.
The city has suffered more terrorist attacks than any other in Somalia except Mogadishu. Since 2009, hundreds of people have been killed in suicide attacks and car bombs on hotels, restaurants and government bases. The single biggest attack, in 2009, killed at least 25 people and injured 60 others.
Airstrikes kill 50 militants
Hours after ending this week’s hotel siege, Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, said the country’s security forces killed dozens of al-Shabab members elsewhere in Hirshabelle.
“Coordinated airstrikes by the Somali army and international partners in the Middle Shabelle region have killed at least 50 al-Shabab militants, including senior leader in charge of the coordination of the group’s combat vehicles,” the NISA statement said.
NISA said the airstrikes targeted the Damasha and Shabeelow areas and killed Mansoor Tima-Weeyne, a senior al-Shabab leader who masterminded the preparation and use of combat vehicles for terrorist attacks.
In a separate statement, the Somali Military Command said, “The operation was a significant blow to the group’s combat capabilities and part of ongoing efforts to weaken terrorism in the region.”
Media outlets closed
On another counterterrorism front, NISA said Wednesday that it closed 12 media outlets and websites linked to the Khawarij, a derogatory term referring to al-Shabab that loosely translates as “those who deviate from the Islamic faith.”
This latest announcement followed another crackdown on over 30 al-Shabab-related websites.
“The operation targeted platforms spreading extremist ideologies, inciting violence, and disseminating false information. During the operation the government seized critical data and identified individuals involved,” said a statement posted by the government’s National News Agency.
