At least 23 people from 18 countries were killed as security forces tried to end the seizure by al-Qaida-linked militants of a hotel in Burkina Faso on Saturday, Reuters news agency reported.
Four jihadists were also killed as Burkina Faso and French forces freed 126 hostages including a minister of the African country at the Splendid Hotel in the capital Ouagadougou, Reuters said. At least 33 people were injured.
The French ambassador to Burkina Faso in a Twitter posting put the victim death toll at 27.
An al-Qaida affiliate known as AQIM, or al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, has claimed responsibility for the seizure of the hotel that occurred late Friday.
AQIM is believed to have carried out an attack on a luxury hotel in Mali in November that left 20 people dead, by joining hands with another extremist group known as al-Mourabitoun.
Burkina Faso, which has a large Muslim population, saw an uprising in October 2014 that ultimately led to the ousting of President
Blaise Compaore, who had stayed in power for 27 years.
Roch Marc Christian Kabore was elected president last November.
==Kyodo
Category: Daily Witness, National
