US, Canadian Missionaries Killed in Islamist Attacks in…

The jihadist attack on a top Burkina Faso hotel was carried out by six gunmen, three of whom are still on the run, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says.

The attacks hit the Splendid Hotel, the Cappuccino Café and also the Yibi Hotel in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Aid organizations and companies working in West Africa say terror attacks like last week’s siege in Burkina Faso haven’t affected their ability to recruit people willing to work in the troubled region.

Witnesses said the assault began around 7:30 p.m. Friday as dozens of people gathered for dinner and drinks at the Cappuccino Cafe and its terrace.

Three French nationals were killed.

Leila Alaoui, 33, whose pictures featured in the New York Times and Vogue magazine, and whose latest Paris art show wound up at the weekend, died of a heart attack shortly before her evacuation after being shot twice in the leg and thorax. Friday’s attack on a four-star hotel, which left at least 29 dead, half of them foreigners, came weeks after an attack on a luxury Mali hotel in Bamako claimed by Islamists that left 20 people dead.

Neighboring countries including Mali have vowed to help Burkina Faso after the attacks.

The French ambassador to Burkina Faso, Gilles Thibault, told journalists it would be a surprise if the different attacks on the same day were not linked in some way.

ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images A policeman stands guard in front of the Splendid Hotel Sunday.

Burkina Foreign Affairs Minister Alpha Barry and Minister of Security Compaore met with diplomats Tuesday, reassuring them that Burkina Faso will remain a safe place despite the attack.

Alaoui was working on assignment on women’s rights issues for Amnesty International. Others killed include seven citizens of Burkina Faso, two Ukrainians, two Swiss, two French and one each from the U.S., Holland, Portugal and Libya, and one French-Ukrainian, according to Burkina Faso officials who released a partial list.

In the statement, AQIM identified the three attackers as Al Battar Al Ansari, Abu Muhammad Al Buqali Al Ansari and Ahmed Al Fulani Al Ansari, according to Reuters.

He spoke as details emerged about a delayed, ill-equipped response from Burkina Faso’s security forces, which have been weakened by recent political turmoil. “And especially countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Tunisia, which represent democracy and calm” on the continent.

Mr Compaore also said security had been increased in areas of the country where foreigners often gathered.