MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali security forces on Wednesday ended a 24-hour siege at a hotel in the central city of Beledwyne, leaving an unknown number of people dead, including all the al-Shabab militants who launched the attack, officials said.

Security forces in Somalia say they killed all six attackers who laid siege to a hotel in the central town of Beledweyne and later killed at least 50 al-Shabab militants in airstrikes. Speaking to reporters, Beledweyne District Commissioner Omar Osman Alasow confirmed that the hotel siege ended early Wednesday.

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.

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.

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.