Burkino Faso forces raid hotel after 30 die in Al Qaeda takeover

Local security forces early Saturday broke through into the Splendid Hotel in the Burkino Faso capital of Ouagadougou, hours after Al Qaeda in the Magreb (AQIM) seized the building and killed at least 30 people, most tourists. Gunmen of AQIM, which has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State, went into the hotel overnight shooting and taking hostages. At least 20 were put to death.  Burkino Faso forces backed by French troops and American counterterrorism advisers later freed 126 hostages and rescued 33 injured victims. Three terrorists were claimed killed, but another part of the city appears to be under attack.

This former French West African colony, with a population of 17 million, is located north of Mali and borders on Niger and Bennin. The attack was the second in a week by ISIS on the capital of a Muslim nation, after the multiple terrorist assault on Jakarta, Indonesia.