NEWS- Unknown gunmen have stormed a hotel in the Somali city of Beledweyne, leaving at least five people dead and triggering an ongoing siege.
According to an witnesses who is also Somali lawmaker, Dahir Amin Jesow the incident took place when local elders and government officials were meeting at the Qahira Hotel in central Somalia.
“They attacked the hotel at dawn this morning, with an explosion and then gunmen stormed it. At least five people including two well-respected elders were killed, and five others were injured,” Jesow said.
The Somali Security Forces backed by Djiboutian soldiers, who are part of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somaila (AUSSOM) and units of Ethiopian soldiers later sorrounded the hotel.
Local reports have however said that the death toll could be be higher of up to 10 fatalities, including five al-Shabab militants suspected to have carried out the attack while other victims are believed to be government soldiers.
A witness Mohamed Qoone, said that plumes of smoke from the explosions could be seen throughout the town as gunfire exchange went on as they could still hear sporadic gunfire from the hotel as some militants are still resisting and fighting with the security forces.
The Islamist militant group al-Shabab have claimed responsibility for the attack in their latest statement saying that had killed more than 10 people.
The group frequently conducts bombings and gun assaults in Somalia, aiming to topple the government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law and this attack follows an operation conducted by Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) just hours earlier, which resulted in the deaths of 16 al-Shabab militants, including key leaders and fighters.
According to Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency the operation dealt a significant blow to al-Shabab, eliminating key members of the group and in addition to the fatalities, the operation also led to the destruction of combat vehicles used by the militants.
Somali Government soldiers, supported by local clan militias and the U.S. military, have been conducting operations against Al-Shabab in Central Somalia, focusing on the Middle Shabelle and Hiran regions.
