Somali forces end deadly 24-hour hotel siege

Somali security forces have ended a deadly 24-hour siege by Islamist fighters who stormed a popular hotel in the central city of Beledweyne, authorities said. The attack by al-Shabab began with a car bomb exploding, followed by gunmen entering the hotel, leading to intense clashes with security forces. “The attackers have been neutralised. Some detonated themselves while others were killed by police forces,” Omar Osman Calasow, the mayor of Beledweyne district, told the BBC. The mayor said seven people had been killed in the attack but witnesses said the death toll could be higher. The raid at the Qahira Hotel…