Armed Islamists have stormed a hotel in the city of Beledweyne in central Somalia, and a siege is ongoing, police and witnesses have said. The attack by al-Shabab began with a car bomb exploding, followed by gunmen entering the hotel,

A car bomb has exploded at a hotel in the central Somali city of Beledweyne, kicking off an hourslong militant attack. An unknown number of people have been killed.

Beledweyne, located about 335 kilometers (208 miles) north of Mogadishu, is the capital of the Hiran region and a strategic location in Somalia’s fight against al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked group that remains a major threat despite ongoing military operations by Somali forces and African Union peacekeepers.

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 Islamist militant group,

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MOGADISHU (Reuters) -Gunmen stormed a hotel in the town of Baladweyne in central Somalia on Tuesday where local elders and government officials were meeting and a siege is ongoing, witnesses and relatives told Reuters.

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(Reuters) - Gunmen stormed a hotel in the town of Baladweyne in central Somalia on Tuesday and a siege was ongoing, two witnesses told Reuters. Dahir Amin Jesow, a federal lawmaker from Baladweyne, said so far at least four people had been killed but that "we are still counting casualties".

Since then, U.S. Africa Command said it conducted several other airstrikes in coordination with the government of Somalia to target ISIS and al-Shabab militants, hitting the vicinity of Al-Kowsar, Ceel Baraf, Dadar and Bulo Burti.

The United States has been carrying out operations in Somalia since at least 2002 without a formal war declaration.

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A clan elder in Beledweyne said the hotel meeting was meant to discuss ways of countering al Shabaab in the region.