BURKINA FASO: Rampaging gunmen attack Turkish restaurant, kill 17, dozens held hostage

Suspected Jihadists reportedly laid siege at a Turkish restaurant based in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso when they opened fire at customers killing no less than 17 people, wounding eight victims and held a dozen others hostage.

According to communications minister Remi Dandjinou, the hostage takers struck on Sunday night as security forces sought to free people still trapped inside early Monday morning.

“This is a terrorist attack,” Dandjinou told a news conference adding that the toll was provisional because the security operation was still underway.

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A woman said she was in the restaurant celebrating her brother’s birthday when the shooting started.

“I just ran but my brother was left inside,” the woman told Reuters TV as she fled the building.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence, which continued into early Monday.

Dandjinou told state TV security forces had killed three attackers and that there were still people trapped in the building, according to the Reuters news agency.

 

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