(12 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beledweyne, Somalia – 12 March 2025
1. Somali armed forces on patrol outside the hotel that was under attack
2. Armoured vehicle as a soldier with a rifle walks past
(UPSOUND) gun shots
3. Damaged hotel with debris scattered around
4. People standing outside damaged hotel
5. Various of damaged hotel
6. Various of aftermath with debris from damaged building
7. Somali armed forces gathered around
8. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Mohamed Hassan, government soldier:
"They first attacked us with a vehicle laden with explosives. Since I was among those on duty during the initial attack, I also fought against the assailants. We truly fought to the end but there were also suicide attackers. One of them detonated himself inside, resulting in the highest number of casualties."
9. Various of the destruction
10. Armoured vehicle positioned near the hotel
STORYLINE:
A car bomb exploded Tuesday at a hotel in the central Somali city of Beledweyne, kicking off an hourslong militant attack that killed an unknown number of people.
Somali security forces continued efforts to flush out attackers late Tuesday after heavy gunfire.
The Cairo Hotel houses traditional elders and military officers involved in coordinating the government’s offensive against the militant group al-Shabab.
The al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.
Beledweyne, about 335 kilometres (208 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 varied.
Resident Muhsin Abdullahi said six people, including two well-known traditional elders, were killed.
But witness Hussein Jeelle Raage said three of his family members were among at least 11 people he knew were dead.
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.
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