Australian couple kidnapped in Burkina Faso

It was echoing and extremely loud.

He said at least 126 hostages were freed, in part by French forces, who arrived overnight from neighbouring Mali to aid in the rescue. Fighters who spoke by phone later “asserted the fall of many dead Crusaders”, AQIM said, according to SITE.

A Reuters witness said that clashes ended after a period of sustained gunfire and explosions that appeared to focus on the Restaurant Cappuccino early on Saturday.

AQIM, along with two other groups, also claimed responsibility for an attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali, which killed 20 people in November.

It’s not clear if the abduction is connected to Saturday’s attacks on a cafe and a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso’s capital that left at least 23 people dead.

“No Indian died in the attack but there were two Indian nationals in the hotel at the time of the attack but they were evacuated later”, Ramchandani said in a telephone conversation.

CANBERRA-The family of an Australia doctor and his wife kidnapped in the West African nation of Burkina Faso say they did not know why the couple were abducted or where they were taken.

The Islamic extremists stormed the hotel and a nearby cafe Friday night. One senior gendarme officer described them as an “Arab” and two “black Africans”.

The victims of the pogrom were said to be having drinks outside and in a popular hotel, before the tragedy struck, as their assailants screamed Allahu akhbar (Arabic for God is great) as gunned them down.

Communication Minister Remis Dandjinou said the counter-assault was carried out by Burkinabe troops with the support of French special forces.

While many in Burkina Faso and across the region were shocked by the raid, there have been indications that the security situation in the majority Muslim but religiously diverse nation was deteriorating.

“The elections went off well”, said Cynthia Ohayon, a security analyst with the International Crisis Group.

Dr Ken Elliot and his wife Jocelyn have reportedly been kidnapped from their home in Burkina Faso.

Since independence, the country has undergone many governmental changes, which include several coups, and has primarily been ruled by the military.

Impoverished Burkina Faso has been seized by growing political turmoil since the longstanding-but-loathed president Blaise Compaoré was ousted in a popular uprising in late 2014.

Canada and Burkina Faso have had a diplomatic relationship since 1962, according to the Department of Global Affairs, adding that Canada is the country’s largest foreign investor.