Shots, explosions heard from major Ouagadougou hotel: AFP (Burkina Faso)

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: AFP

Ouagadougou (AFP) - Shots and explosions were on Friday heard coming from one of Ouagadougou's main hotels, according to an AFP journalist who saw three men firing at the scene.

A car was also on fire in front of the Splendid Hotel located in a busy, central area of the Burkina Faso capital and regularly used by United Nations staff and westerners.

The Cappuccino cafe-restaurant opposite the hotel, which is also popular with westerners, had also been targeted, a witness who spoke to AFP added.

Security forces were not yet on the scene.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/shots-explosions-heard-major-ouagadougou-hotel-afp-204031367.html;_ylt=A0LEVyXMXJlWAIEAwppXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--

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[KamaAina]

1. Probably overflow from Mali

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkina_Faso#Economy_and_Infrastructure

The growth rate in Burkina Faso is high although it continues to be plagued by corruption and incursions from terrorist groups from Mali and Niger.

[Tab]

2. Ouagadougou?

Hope everyone's okay.

Yet another example that war is God's way of teaching geography to Americans.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. I love that name.

I was going to say, reflecting on the thread's title, "you mean there's another Ouagadougou, other than the one in Burkina Faso?"

Edited to make the question a little more sensible.

[Tab]

5. There's more than one??

I guess I still need more geography teaching.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Just imagine the lost luggage. NT

[oberliner]

18. At least twenty people are dead

So sadly everyone is not okay.

[Tab]

23. I understand that now; was not obvious on the first report which is what I commented on

sounds like a nightmare. The poor families and the innocents especially.

[bluedigger]

3. My friend was a block away; saw the fires.

He thinks it's Boko Haram, but his guess is as good as yours or mine at this point.

[uppityperson]

9. Hope your friend is ok.

[bluedigger]

10. He's fine, thanks.

First thing he replied when I asked after him was "Let me finish my drink".

[oberliner]

19. Al Qaida has claimed it

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

[MowCowWhoHow III]

7. Gunmen attack hotel, take hostages in Burkina Faso capital

Gunmen attack hotel, take hostages in Burkina Faso capital

Gunmen battled with security forces outside one of the main hotels in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou on Friday, witnesses and gendarmes said, moments after shots and explosions were heard coming from the hotel.

Unconfirmed witness reports said at least some of the attackers were still holed up inside the hotel. A gendarme source told Reuters that hostages had been taken.

An AFP journalist at the scene reported seeing three men with turbans firing weapons outside the Splendid Hotel, located in a busy, central area of the Burkina Faso capital regularly frequented by United Nations staff and westerners.

Around 10 cars were also on fire in front of the hotel, the journalist said.

http://www.france24.com/en/20160115-shots-explosions-heard-hotel-burkina-faso-capital-ouagadougou

[MowCowWhoHow III]

8. Several dead in Ouagadougou attack, says restaurant employee

#BREAKING Several dead in Ouagadougou attack, says restaurant employee
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/688129440258207744

[MowCowWhoHow III]

11. Al-Qaeda affiliate claims Ouagadougou attack: monitor group

Al-Qaeda affiliate claims Ouagadougou attack: monitor group

Washington (AFP) - An Al-Qaeda affiliate in Africa has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack on a restaurant in Ouagadougou in which a witness said several people were killed, according to a US-based jihadist monitoring group.

The "mujahideen brothers" of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb "broke into a restaurant of one of the biggest hotels in the capital of Burkina Faso, and are now entrenched and the clashes are continuing with the enemies of the religion," the SITE Intelligence Group quoted an Arabic-language AQIM message as saying

http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaeda-affiliate-claims-ouagadougou-attack-monitor-group-234351040.html;_ylt=AwrC1jG5hJlWlTIAXQ3QtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--

[MowCowWhoHow III]

12. At least 20 dead in Burkina Faso hotel attack: hospital chief

#BREAKING At least 20 dead in Burkina Faso hotel attack: hospital chief
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/688150635653369856

[MowCowWhoHow III]

13. 20 reported killed in Burkina Faso hotel attack

20 reported killed in Burkina Faso hotel attack

Al-Qaida group claims responsibility for hotel siege in capital city Ouagadougou, where gunmen exchanged fire with security forces

Gunfire and explosions have erupted in Burkina Faso’s capital as security forces battled militant fighters who were holding hostages at one of Ouagadougou’s most prominent hotels. There were reports that 20 people had been killed.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the ongoing attack. It follows a deadly raid on a hotel in Mali last November, as well as attacks by militants in other countries in west Africa.

The gunmen stormed the five-storey Splendid hotel in Ouagadougou’s business district, burning cars outside and firing in the air to drive back crowds before security forces arrived, prompting an intense exchange of gunfire.

Robert Sangare, director of Ouagadougou’s university hospital centre, said: “We have received around 15 wounded people. There are people with bullet wounds and people who are injured because of falls.” He said that the injured patients had told him they had seen around 20 bodies in the hotel.

One witness told Associated Press that he saw four men attack the hotel and neighbouring Cappuccino Cafe at about 7.30pm local time. Another witness said that when security forces arrived, they turned around rather than confront the attackers.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/15/security-forces-battle-suspected-jihadists-in-burkina-faso-capital

[MowCowWhoHow III]

14. Burkina Faso attack: Hostages freed from Ouagadougou hotel

Burkina Faso attack: Hostages freed from Ouagadougou hotel

About 30 hostages have been freed after an attack by militants on a hotel in Burkina Faso's Ouagadougou that reportedly killed at least 20 people.

Several masked men stormed the Splendid Hotel, taking hostages, after car bombs went off outside, eyewitnesses said.

Communications Minister Remis Dandjinou tweeted that some 30 hostages had been liberated and that a military operation to secure the site was ongoing.

He said Minister of Public Works Clement Sawadogo was among those freed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35330169

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Burkina Faso hotel siege declared over, but reports say a nearby hotel is now under attack

A siege is over at a Burkina Faso hotel seized by suspected Islamist gunmen, the government says, but reports say a nearby hotel is now under attack.

In all, 126 people were freed at the Splendid Hotel in the West African state's capital, Ouagadougou, the interior minister said.

Three gunmen were killed, he added, amid reports of 20 deaths during the attack, which also targeted a cafe.

Dozens of French forces from neighbouring Mali aided in the rescue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35332792

A second assault is underway in Burkina Faso following the ending of a hostage crisis at the Splendid Hotel.

Announcing that troops had stormed that building, killing three al-Qaeda militants and freeing 126 people, the interior minister confirmed that security operations continued at the Yibi Hotel.

Simon Compaore had previously said troops were searching nearby buildings to ensure no jihadists were in hiding and it was unclear whether the incident was related.

Gunmen stormed had stormed the four-star Splendid Hotel and a nearby café late on Friday night, detonating bombs that set surrounding cars on fire.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/burkina-faso-attack-live-assault-reported-at-second-hotel-after-troops-end-al-qaeda-hostage-crisis-a6815571.html

[flamingdem]

16. Horrifying

Again they're attacking hotels where foreign aid workers stay.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. At least some of the attackers were staying at the hotel

Survivors described how the militants went from person to person, touching their bodies to see if they moved. Those that did were shot at close range.
...
As the end of the siege at the Splendid was being announced, reports came in that militants had taken up position at the Yibi hotel, a short distance away. One attacker was killed at the Yibi, officials said later.

Remi Dandjinou, the Burkinabe communications minister, told the BBC earlier that between six and seven militants had attacked the Splendid, adding that they had been staying at the hotel as guests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35332792

[oberliner]

20. Two of the three attackers at the Splendid Hotel were identified as female

Two of the three attackers at the Splendid Hotel were identified as female, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said on national radio.

In a separate development, an Austrian doctor and his wife were kidnapped Friday night by extremists in Burkina Faso's north near its border with Mali, Abi Ouattara, security ministry spokeswoman, said Saturday.

http://news.yahoo.com/10-bodies-found-burkina-faso-cafe-al-qaida-052112356.html

[Eugene]

21. Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among dead

Source: The Guardian and agencies

Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among dead

At least 27 killed in overnight assault by al-Qaida-linked terrorists on hotel
popular with UN staff and foreigners

Nadia Khomami and agencies in Ouagadougou
Saturday 16 January 2016 12.38 GMT

At least 27 people of 18 different nationalities have been killed in an attack on a hotel in the capital of Burkina Faso by al-Qaida-linked militants, security officials have confirmed.

Three jihadis, including an Arab and two black Africans, were also killed in the assault on the Splendid hotel and the nearby Cappuccino cafe in Ouagadougou, officials said. A fourth extremist was killed at the Yibi hotel, which was searched by troops as part of a later raid on nearby buildings.

Burkina Faso’s president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, said two of the attackers had been identified as women. A witness told Agence France-Presse that a fifth attacker was seen rushing into a nearby bar before escaping.

Security forces had freed a total of 150 hostages, including at least 33 wounded, from the hotel.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/15/security-forces-battle-suspected-jihadists-in-burkina-faso-capital

[MowCowWhoHow III]

22. Burkina Faso minister says kidnapped couple are Australian, not Austrian

#BREAKING: Burkina Faso minister says kidnapped couple are Australian, not Austrian
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/688396122742755328