Ouagadougou: At least 20 people died and others were taken hostage when Islamist gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital city of Burkina Faso on Friday.


Here are the other details:


  • Siege over at Burkina's Splendid hotel and restaurant: Interior Minister
  • 126 hostages rescued from the Splendid Hotel, which is frequented by Westerners.
  • Three attackers killed in the operation: Interior Minister 
  • Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was "revenge against France and the disbelieving West".
  • The assault in Ouagadougou began mid-evening and by 11 pm (2300 GMT) the sounds of gunfire and explosions had died down.
  • Medical personnel have moved wounded away from the front of the hotel.
  • This is the first time Islamist militants have carried out an assault in the capital of Burkina Faso.
  • Robert Sangare, the director of Ouagadougou`s university hospital centre, said one European woman being treated at the hospital told him the attackers appeared to target white people.
  • The hotel is sometimes used by French troops with Operation Barkhane, a force based in Chad and set up to combat Islamist militants across West Africa`s vast, arid Sahel region.