Assailants Attack Burkina Faso’s Military Headquarters, French Embassy Killing Seven

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Attackers in Burkina Faso's capital killed seven people and wounded some fifty others in a coordinated assault on the army headquarters and French embassy that a French ambassador said was a terrorist attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which is the third major assault on Ouagadougou in just over two years.

Previous attacks were conducted by allies of al Qaeda in reprisal for Burkina Faso's participation in a regional fight against Islamist militants.


Speaking on state television, government spokesman Remi Dandjinou said the unidentified gunmen killed five Burkinabe soldiers and wounded around 50 others at the military headquarters. Two members of Burkina Faso's paramilitary gendarmes were killed defending the embassy, he said.

A government statement said four gunmen were "neutralised" at the French embassy, while the defence minister said three assailants were killed at the army headquarters.