A deadly attack unfolded in Beledweyne’s Howlwadaag neighborhood on Tuesday morning as Alshabab militants stormed Cairo Hotel following multiple bomb explosions. The attackers used car bombs before opening fire, targeting a hotel where traditional elders and military officers were gathered to coordinate efforts against the militant group in western Hiiraan.
Security forces are still engaged in a gunfight with the attackers inside the hotel, but the number of casualties remains unclear. This attack comes shortly after HirShabelle State President Ali Abdullahi Hussein Gudlawe visited the frontlines in Qurac-Madobe, Warciise, and Aqab-Duca to oversee ongoing security operations. The federal government has yet to release an official statement on the incident.