The four-star Splendid Hotel was at the heart of the attacks in Burkina Faso's capital. Picture courtesy: Hotels.com
Security forces in Burkina Faso retook a hotel in the capital on Saturday, a day after al Qaeda fighters seized it in an assault that killed at least 28 people from at least 18 countries, Reuters reported.
The assault follows a similar raid in November on a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako which killed 20 people, including citizens of Russia, China and the United States.
President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said 28 people were killed in the 146-room Splendid Hotel, in the Cappuccino restaurant across the street and at a second nearby hotel, the Hotel Yibi, according to an initial death toll.
Speaking on state-run television, Kabore said 156 hostages had been freed by the security operation to retake the area, while around 50 civilians had been wounded. Four members of the security forces, including one French soldier were also wounded.
"Faced with these terrorists and their vile acts, we must mobilise to ensure the appropriate response to put them out of action," Kabore said.
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Authorities had earlier said that victims of 18 different nationalities were killed in the attack which targeted an area popular with Westerners and French soldiers based in Burkina Faso.
Burkina officials gave no further details of the victims, but the French government announced on Saturday that two French citizens were among the dead. Paris pledged to send forensic experts to help investigate the attack, and a French court opened an investigation for murder and attempted murder.
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