Gunfire, explosions in ‘terror attack’ at Burkina Faso hotel

Soldiers stand near the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 15, 2016, where suspected Islamist fighters are holding hostages. - Reuters

OUAGADOUGOU: Gunshots and explosions were heard coming from one of Ouagadougou’s main hotels and a nearby restaurant on Friday night, with a witness saying several people had been killed in what the French embassy called a terrorist attack.

Around 10 vehicles were on fire in the street where the four-star Splendid hotel and the Cappuccino restaurant opposite – both popular with United Nations staff and westerners – are located in a busy, central area of Burkina Faso’s capital not far from the international airport.