Six Canadians killed in Burkina Faso attack, PM Trudeau says

An American missionary was among the 29 killed in an Al-Qaeda attack in the West African nation of Burkina Faso Friday night, an unprecedented strike in the capital illustrating the expanding reach of regional jihadists.

Survivors described how the militants were targeting foreign “white people” during the siege with one woman saying: “They kept coming back and forth into Cappuccino”.

Twenty-eight people died and 54 were injured in the attack in Ouagadougou which started early Saturday and lasted about twelve hours.

Burkinabe Security Minister, Simon Compoare, said that 176 hostages had been rescued.

An al-Qaeda affiliate in the region claimed responsibility for the attack.

He is survived by his four children, two of whom were adopted from Burkina Faso.

In a message posted in Arabic on the extremists’ “Muslim Africa” Telegram account, it said fighters “broke into a restaurant of one of the biggest hotels in the capital of Burkina Faso, and are now entrenched and the clashes are continuing with the enemies of the religion”.

The organization said Riddering was meeting with a pastor at the Cappuccino restaurant near the hotel when it came under attack.

Kabore said 156 hostages had been freed while around 50 civilians had been wounded.

Michael Riddering was one of 28 people from 18 different nationalities who were killed in the attack in the capital Ouagadougou which turned into a 12-hour siege starting on Friday evening.

“They were walking around people and firing at people who were not dead”.

The Ouagadougou assault, claimed by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, marked an expansion of operations for Islamist militants who are stepping up their activities, echoing the growth of Islamic State in the Middle East.

‘It was a night of horror, ‘ said Lucien Travi, who was near the Splendid Hotel where the attack took place.

French President Francois Hollande denounced the “odious and cowardly attack”, with the European Union and Britain issuing similar condemnations.

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.

A United States defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington could provide drone-based surveillance.

Ken Elliott said in an undated Global Business Solutions Inc. video recorded in Djibo that the couple were motivated to build their medical center at Djibo because of the local need. On Thursday, assailants set off bombs and opened fire on a busy street in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The French embassy said on its website that a “terrorist attack” was underway and urged people to avoid the area.