17 Dead, Several Wounded in Burkina Faso Shooting, Al Queda Blamed

By Ray Downs  

Police tape cordons the area around of a terrorist attack at the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso, January 16, 2016. On August 13, armed gunmen attack a restaurant and a hotel

in the area, killing at least 17 people. File photo by Wouter Elsen/EPA

UPI -- Seventeen people were killed and nine others wounded after assailants attacked a cafe in Burkina Faso Sunday night, according to media reports.

The attack occurred at the Hotel Bravia and the Aziz Istanbul Restaurant in the capital of Ouagadougou, near the city's popular Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, reported the BBC.

Burkina Faso's Communication Minister Remis Dandjinou said it was unclear how many attackers participated in the shooting as they have not yet been apprehended.

"They are confined to one part of the building they attacked. Security and elite forces are conducting an operation," he said.

Witness reports indicate there were three shooters.

Police have closed off the city center and the U.S. embassy warned U.S. citizens to avoid the area.

The attack appears to be similar to the January 2016 attack in which masked gunmen stormed a four-star hotel catering to Westerners in Ouagadougou and killed 30 people, including many foreigners.

Al-Queda took responsibility for that attack, citing "revenge against France and the disbelieving West" as their motive.