Latest news with #AbdullahiFidow
Dubai Eye
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Dubai Eye
Seven dead in Al Shabaab gunmen hotel attack in Somalia
Al Shabaab gunmen killed at least seven people in an attack on Tuesday at a hotel in a central Somali town where local elders and government officials were meeting to discuss how to act against the group. The al Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for the attack in Beledweyne and said it had killed over 10 people. The attackers forced their way in by setting off explosives at the entrance, said a witness, shopkeeper Ali Suleiman. Al Shabaab frequently launches bombings and gun attacks in the fragile Horn of Africa nation as it tries to topple the government and establish its own rule. "So far seven people, including clan elders and their guards, all of them my relatives, died in the hotel. Parts of the hotel are ablaze now and it is not clear if the operation is concluded or not," clan elder Abdullahi Fidow told Reuters. "Some say the fighters are still fighting in nearby buildings. The death toll may rise because of the blasts and shooting by the fighters," he said. Hours after the initial attack, government forces were trying to flush out Al Shabaab fighters, some of whom had been killed in nearby alleys, said Dahir Amin Jesow, a federal lawmaker from the town, the capital of Hiraan region. In a separate incident, at least 10 people, including eight Al Shabaab fighters, were killed in fighting in a village in the Middle Shabelle region in southern Somalia, Ali Farah, a military officer in the village, told Reuters. State-owned Somali National News Agency reported that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was at the airport in Mogadishu to receive the soldiers wounded in the fighting.
Russia Today
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Deadly attack on hotel in Somalia (VIDEO)
Gunmen from the Al-Shabaab terrorist group have stormed a hotel in the city of Beledweyne in central Somalia, where local leaders and government officials were meeting to plan an offensive against the jihadist organization, multiple news agencies have reported. Reports vary on the death toll from the assault on Tuesday at the Cairo Hotel, although a witness told the Associated Press that three of his family members were among some 11 people he knew were dead. Reuters cited a clan elder, Abdullahi Fidow, as saying that seven people had been killed in the attack. 'The death toll may rise because of the blasts and shooting by the fighters,' he told the news agency. The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the incident, alleging to have killed more than ten people. According to local outlet Somali Guardian, the attack began with a car bomb exploding at the entrance of the hotel. Gunmen later entered the building, resulting in violent clashes with security forces. Videos shared on social media showed thick smoke rising from the facility, which has significant damage to its walls as a result of the bombing. Al-Shabaab gunmen remain barricaded inside a hotel in #Somalia's Baladweyne town after launching a deadly attack early Tuesday, as Somali security forces, supported by peacekeepers from #Djibouti and #Ethiopia, continue efforts to end the siege now stretching beyond 10 hours. On Wednesday, Universal Somali TV reported that the siege on the facility had ended after more than 24 hours of intense fighting between militants and the East African country's troops, as well as Ethiopian and Djiboutian allies. Al-Shabaab remains the dominant terrorist organization in Somalia, frequently carrying out explosives and gun attacks on civilians and military infrastructure in an attempt to destabilize the government and establish its own rule. The group was driven out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in 2011 by an African Union peacekeeping force, but it still controls some areas in the southern and central regions of the country. Last August, over 30 people were killed in a terrorist attack on Lido Beach in Mogadishu. Four gunmen reportedly targeted the seaside spot with indiscriminate shooting, while a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device. In October 2022, Al-Shabaab carried out twin car bombings in Mogadishu, killing more than 100 people and injuring 300. Last month, US President Donald Trump ordered precision airstrikes in Somalia's Bari region targeting an unnamed senior Islamic State attack planner and other militants. The offensive reportedly destroyed terrorist hideouts and killed several militants.
Arab News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Al Shabab gunmen attack hotel in central Somalia, seven dead
MOGADISHU: Al Shabab gunmen killed at least seven people in an attack on Tuesday at a hotel in a central Somali town where local elders and government officials were meeting to discuss how to act against the Islamist militant group, an elder said. The Al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for the attack in Beledweyne and said it had killed over 10 people. The attackers forced their way in by setting off explosives at the entrance, said a witness, shopkeeper Ali Suleiman. Al Shabab frequently launches bombings and gun attacks in the fragile Horn of Africa nation as it tries to topple the government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. 'So far seven people, including clan elders and their guards, all of them my relatives, died in the hotel. Parts of the hotel are ablaze now and it is not clear if the operation is concluded or not,' clan elder Abdullahi Fidow told Reuters. 'Some say the fighters are still fighting in nearby buildings. The death toll may rise because of the blasts and shooting by the fighters,' he said. Hours after the initial attack, government forces were trying to flush out Al Shabab fighters, some of whom had been killed in nearby alleys, said Dahir Amin Jesow, a federal lawmaker from the town, the capital of Hiraan region. In a separate incident, at least 10 people, including eight Al Shabab fighters, were killed in fighting in a village in the Middle Shabelle region in southern Somalia, Ali Farah, a military officer in the village, told Reuters. State-owned Somali National News Agency reported that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was at the airport in Mogadishu to receive the soldiers wounded in the fighting.
