20 dead in Al Qaida attack in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Security forces in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou have launched an offensive against gunmen who stormed a five storey hotel and took hostages on Saturday. At least 20 people were, reportedly, killed as a result of the explosions and gunfire around the Splendid Hotel. About 30 hostages have been released but the military operations are still on.

The BBC reported that, a number of masked men stormed into the hotel and took hostages after explosives blew off cars outside.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the US monitoring group SITE, the group claimed 30 of their “crusaders” were killed in the “revenge for the Prophet.”

Burkina Faso’s Communications Minister Remis Dandjinou posted on Twitter that around 30 people were liberated including the Minister of Public Works, Clement Sawadogo. He added that 33 people are receiving treatment at a hospital. However, it is not clear if there are still any hostages inside the hotel.

The militants detonated explosives outside the hotel blowing off cars and fired in the air to scare the crowds outside. The security forces arrived at the scene and launched an assault against the group, ensuing a heavy exchange of gunfire. The hotel is popular with both foreigners and the United Nations staff. It is also located in a busy area which is not too far from the airport.

According to Robert Sangare, director of Ouagadougou’s university hospital centre, the people wounded in the attack told him that they saw bodies of around 20 people inside the hotel.

“It is continuing at this time,” the Guardian quoted a senior official as saying. “We are trying to know how many attackers they are to better coordinate our actions. Hostages have been taken. The operation could take several hours.”

The attack came two months after a deadly attack in neighbouring Mali, which killed 20 people including 14 foreigners. Burkina Faso is a West African Muslim country which has been in deep turmoil since the ousting of its president in late 2014.