BURKINA FASO: 126 Hostages Rescued,Three Militants Killed At Splendid Hotel Attack

Flames can be seen near the Splendid Hotel.
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A total of 126 people have been freed and three jihadists killed following an assault by security forces on the Burkina Faso hotel and restaurant that were attacked by Al-Qaeda-linked gunmen.

The country’s interior minister said another assault was now ongoing at another hotel.

"One hundred and twenty six people including 33 wounded have been freed," Simon Compaore said

“Three jihadists an Arab and two black Africans were killed.

"The attacks on the Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino (restaurant opposite) are over. But an assault of is ongoing at the Hotel Ybi next to the Cappuccino.”

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the hotel attack, which killed at least 20.

Earlier, security forces surrounded the Splendid Hotel ready to retake the building, which is frequented by westerners, the country's foreign minister Alpha Barry said in a telephone interview.

Following a firefight, they were able to initially recover 63 hostages, including the wounded.

"There are some dead but we don't have the numbers. The assault is ongoing with the Burkinabe forces supported by French special forces," communication minister Remis Dandjinou said, adding that among those rescued was labour minister Clement Sawadogo.

The Cappuccino Splendid cafe-restaurant opposite the hotel, also popular with westerners, was also targeted in the terror attack.

Medical personnel moved wounded away from the front of the hotel.

A US defence official said France had requested US intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance support in the city and at least one US military member in Burkina Faso was giving "advice and assistance" to French forces at the hotel.

The government has not ruled out calling for help from French special forces stationed in the country, Mr Barry said in a telephone interview.

The assault in Ouagadougou began mid-evening and by 11pm (2300 GMT) the sounds of gunfire and explosions had died down.

"For the dead, we do not have a precise figure, but there are at least 20 dead," said Robert Sangare, the head of Yalgado Ouedraogo hospital.

"We have had at least 15 wounded with bullet wounds and others who suffered injuries during the panic to escape."

Dr Sangare 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.

This is the first time Islamist militants have carried out an assault in the capital of Burkina Faso.

The attack comes less than two months after a jihadist attack at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the Malian capital Bamako on November 20 in which 20 people died including 14 foreigners.

Last month Burkina Faso swore in Roch Marc Christian Kabore as president, completing the troubled West African state's transition after the overthrow of its longtime ruler, Blaise Compaore in 2014 and a failed coup attempt in September.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in October 2014 when Compaore sought to extend his rule, forcing him to step down after ruling the poor, landlocked country with an iron fist for 27 years.

Kabore, 58, becomes only the third civilian president of the nine who have held power since the country's independence from France in 1960.