Ouagadougou, Jan. 16 (EFE).- Thirty hostages including Burkina Faso’s Minister of Public Works
Clement Sawadogo have been rescued from a Ouagadougou hotel that was seized Friday night by a group of al Qaeda-affiliated jihadists, official sources said Saturday.
The military operation – which was launched early Saturday morning with the support of French troops and U.S. intelligence officials – has been ongoing for at least two hours as of 6am local time (6am GMT).
The army is save hostages and root out the perpetrators of the attack that began Friday evening by jihadist group al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on Splendid Hotel in the capital city’s downtown financial district, an area often frequented by westerners and United Nations personnel.
At around 20:00 local time (20:00 GMT) terrorists set fire to several vehicles in front of the hotel – which some witnesses say could be two car bombs – and entered the hotel in a flurry of gunfire as they took guests hostage.
At least 20 people have been killed and 33 others wounded in the assault, according to local media reports.
On Nov. 20 AQIM had also claimed responsibility for the attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, the capital of Mali, in which 19 people died. EFE
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Category: Daily Witness, National
