At least 17 killed in attack on restaurant in Burkina Faso

TIL Desk/World/Ouagadougou(Burkina Faso)/ At least 17 people were killed and another eight were wounded in a suspected terror attack at a Turkish restaurant in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou. Express.co.uk quoted a police spokesperson as saying that the restaurant witnessed heavy gunfire and security forces have been deployed at Ouagadougou post attack.

Burkina Faso’s communications minister Remi Dandjinou confirmed that security operations are underway at the restaurant, named Aziz Istanbul Patisserie, which is part of the Hotel Bravia. Soldiers are deployed on the scene, with armoured vehicles as they launch an operation against suspected jihadists in the city.

The assailants were reportedly armed with automatic firearms. According to the witnesses, three armed men arrived at around 10.30 pm BST and opened fire on customers sitting outside the cafe. One person, who was in the hotel at the time of the incident, said there are several victims following the attack.

Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in West Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It shares a northern border with Mali, which has long battled Islamic extremists.