Al-Qaeda Siege In Burkinabe Hotel Ended By Security Forces: 126 Hostages Freed

 

 
Burkinabe security forces ended a stand-off with Islamist Al-Qaeda militants by retaking the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou after a few hours of gun battle.
Security minister Simon Compaore confirmed the news to reporters, revealing that 126 hostages had been freed, with 33 wounded. He also added that three of the terrorists were killed in the attack.
“The operations at the Splendid Hotel and the (nearby) Restaurant Cappuccino have ended. 126 hostages were freed, among them 33 were wounded,” the minister told Reuters.
“Three jihadists were killed. They are an Arab and two black Africans.”
Another operation was underway at a nearby hotel, to determine if any more terrorists were hiding there.
A group of gunmen attacked the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou early Saturday. They captured several hostages and were holed in as Special Forces attempted launching a counter attack.
Over thirty hostages were freed after a first wave of counter attacks, but others remained inside and the terrorists and law enforcement continued to engage in steady gun battles.
Twenty people died in the attack, whilst at least thirty were injured and were receiving treatment in hospitals across the city.
The Splendid Hotel is a luxury hotel often patronised by foreigners in Burkina Faso- making this attack mirror the one carried out on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako last November, also by radical Islamic terrorists.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for this attack, according to US-based monitoring group SITE.