On 11 March 2025, six al-Shabaab militants detonated a suicide car bomb at the Cairo Hotel in central

Beledweyne Beledweyne (, ) is a city in central Somalia. Beledweyne District is the capital city of the Hiran region. The city is situated in the Shebelle Valley riverine near the Ethiopian border, 210 miles (345 km) north of Mogadishu. Beledweyne ...

, Hiran,

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. The assault began with an explosion, followed by intense gunfire as attackers stormed the hotel and clashed with security forces. More than 21 people were killed, including all attackers and two traditional elders, and dozens were injured. The death toll is expected to rise due to the severity of the incident. The hotel hosted traditional elders and military officers coordinating government reports.

Background

Al-Shabaab, a

Jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...

militant group and ally of

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, has waged an insurgency for over a decade and continues to control parts of southern and central Somalia. The Cairo Hotel is a prominent location in the city of

that serves as a base for traditional elders and military officers who play a vital role in coordinating government offensives against al-Shabaab militants.

South and central Somalia offensives

On 20 February 2025, al-Shabaab started a new offensive called "Operation Ramadan", against the

Somali National Army The Somali National Army () are the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces. Since Somali independence in 1960, the Army fought to expand and increase Somalia's sphere of influence throughout the Horn of Africa counter to Ethiopia' ...

(SNA), African Union Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) forces, and allied

Ma'awisley Ma'awisley () are a collection of clan-based militias based in central Somalia, primarily active in the states of Hirshabelle and Galmudug. Formed as a grassroots response to the militant group al-Shabaab, they have emerged as a critical, albeit ...

clan militias (), in

Hirshabelle State Hirshabelle, officially Hirshabelle State of Somalia ( Somali: ''Dowlad Goboleedka Hirshabelle ee Soomaaliya''), is a Federal Member State in south-central Somalia. It is bordered by Galmudug state of Somalia to the north, South West State o ...

. The militant group's objective was to regain territory lost in the 2022 ground offensive led by the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

and

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

, particularly strategic towns and supply routes, and to take control of Somalia's capital

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

. Al-Shabaab took over more than 15 towns and villages in the

Middle Shabelle Middle Shabelle (, , ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southern Somalia. It is bordered by Hiran to the north, Galgaduud to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south and the region of Lower Shabelle and the capital Mogadishu to the ...

, Hiran, and

Lower Shabelle Lower Shabelle (, , , ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southern Somalia. Geography Lower Shabelle is bordered by the regions of Banaadir, Middle Shabelle (Shabeellaha Dhexe), Hiran, Bay, Middle Jubba (Jubbada Dhexe) and by the ...

regions within the first day of the offensive. The state capital

Jowhar Jowhar (, , Italian: ''Giohar'') is the capital city of Hirshabelle state of Somalia. Jowhar is also the administrative capital of Middle Shabelle region of Somalia. Along with Baidoa, it used to form the joint administrative capital of th ...

was later surrounded by al-Shabaab fighters, and Hirshabelle's president Ali Guudlaawe fled the city. Opposition media compared the event to Afghan president

Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan former politician and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was 2021 Taliban offensive, overthrown by the Ta ...

's escape from Kabul when it fell to the Taliban. On 4 March 2025, the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu warned of imminent attack threats from al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, including at

Aden Adde International Airport Aden Adde International Airport (, ) , formerly known as Mogadishu International Airport, is an international airport serving Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. It is named after Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, the first President of Somalia. Orig ...

. Following this security warning,

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

and

Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (, ''al-Qaṭariyya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 170 internatio ...

halted all flights to Mogadishu. Embassy personnel movements were suspended. The embassy also warned that militant groups continue to plan kidnappings, bombings, and other attacks across the country.

Attack

On 11 March 2025, at around 7:00 a.m. (

EAT Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food. In biology, this is typically done to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and nutrients and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive – ...

), six militants from al-Shabaab launched an attack against the Cairo Hotel, where politicians, security officials and traditional elders were meeting to discuss plans for an offensive against al-Shabaab in southern central Somalia. The attack began with the detonation of a car bomb, followed by gunmen storming the hotel. At least five people were initially killed and five others were injured. The death toll later increased to more than 15 civilians. According to al-Shabaab, 20 people were killed, including government officials and leaders of a pro-government clan militia. Somali security forces, supported by Djiboutian and Ethiopian troops under the

African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia The African Union Stabilization Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) is a peacekeeping operation which started in 2025 authorized by the African Union (AU) to replace the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). The mission aims to su ...

, later surrounded the hotel. Later reports confirmed fifteen civilian deaths, with the toll expected to increase. After 24 hours, all six al-Shabaab attackers were killed. The hotel was significantly damaged by smoke and flames during the attack.

Aftermath

In response to the attack, the Somali Army killed at least 50 al-Shabaab militants in airstrikes, including the senior leader in charge of the coordination of the group's combat vehicles, Mansoor Tima-Weeyne.

Reactions

Former presidents

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (, ; born 25 July 1965) is a Somali politician who served as the 7th President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. Before his presidency, he became the Chairman of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from 2004 to 2007 and the A ...

and

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (, ; born March 11, 1962), also known as Farmaajo, is a Somali politician who served as president of Somalia from 2017 to 2022. He was Prime Minister of Somalia, prime minister of Somalia for six months, from Novembe ...

condemned the attacks on social media and expressed condolences to relatives of the victims, as did the

minister of health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

, Ali Haji Adam. Alper Aktaş, Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, expressed his sympathy and solidarity with victims. More than 100 members of Somalia's

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor ...

called on President

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somali language, Somali: ''Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud''; ; born 29 November 1955) is a Somali politician serving as the president of Somalia since 15 May 2022. He previously held the office from 2012 to 2017. Hassan was previo ...

to resign, accusing him of leadership failures as the country grapples with mounting security and governance challenges.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beledweyne hotel attack, 2025 2025 building bombings 2025 mass shootings in Africa 2025 murders in Somalia 2020s sieges 21st-century mass murder in Somalia March 2025 crimes in Africa March 2025 in Somalia Islamic terrorist incidents in 2025 Mass murder in 2025 Suicide bombings in 2025 Terrorist incidents in Somalia in 2025 Hotel bombings in Somalia Mass shootings in Somalia Sieges of the Somali Civil War Al-Shabaab (militant group) attacks in Beledweyne Hiran, Somalia Car and truck bombings in 2025 Suicide car and truck bombings in Somalia