A siege at a Burkina Faso hotel seized by suspected Islamist militants is over, the authorities say, amid reports of an attack on a second hotel.

The assault on the Splendid Hotel in the West African state's capital, Ouagadougou, killed at least 23 people of 18 different nationalities.

Four attackers were killed, two of them women, officials said.

The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) militant group has announced that it carried out the attack.

Bukinabe President Roch Kabore arrived at the scene on Saturday morning amid right security.

French President Francois Hollande condemned the "odious" attack on the capital of the former French colony. French troops helped their Burkinabe colleagues during the security operation.

In November, an AQIM attack on a hotel in the Malian capital Bamako left 19 people dead.
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Media captionFires can be seen and explosions heard near the Splendid hotel in Ouagadougou
Militants seeking to dominate regional jihad - Tomi Oladipo, BBC Africa security correspondent

The numerous armed groups in the Sahel often take advantage of the porous borders and weak regional security to establish their violent campaigns.

A recently consolidated AQIM - since mending relations with its offshoot, the al-Murabitoun group - is keen to cement its status as the dominant jihadist group in North Africa and the Sahel, particularly with the rise of its rival, the so-called Islamic State, in the region.

AQIM made this point in its purported attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako in November. Mali has been a key theatre of operation but now its southern neighbour, Burkina Faso, is the latest victim.

Burkina Faso is only just moving on from a political crisis. Its new President, Roch Kabore, has only been in office for three weeks and already has his hands full.
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Image caption An Ouagadougou resident sent the BBC photos of the aftermath of the attack on Saturday morning. Here soot can be seen on the side of the Splendid Hotel
Image copyright Anonymous
Image caption A foreign soldier could be seen on the roof of the hotel

Militants attacked the Splendid and the nearby Cappuccino cafe on Friday evening, setting off several explosions. Both places are popular with UN staff and foreigners.

Interior Minister Simon Compaore said 10 bodies had been found on the cafe terrace alone.

He added that 126 hostages had been freed, with 33 of them injured. Among those freed is the country's Minister of Public Works, Clement Sawadogo.

As the end of the siege was being announced, reports came in that militants had taken up position at the Yibi hotel, a short distance away on the same street in Ouagadougou.

One of the attackers was killed at the Yibi, officials said.

Remi Dandjinou, the Burkinabe communications minister, told the BBC earlier that between six and seven militants had attacked the Splendid, adding that they had been staying at the hotel as guests.

Interior Minister Compaore said two black Africans and an Arab were among the militants killed.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Burkinabe soldiers ringed the Splendid
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption French soldiers also took part in the operation
Image copyright AFP/Getty Images
Image caption French police officers helped tend to the wounded
'Political fragility'

Burkina Faso recently held its first presidential election since a coup earlier last year.

That coup toppled long-time leader Blaise Compaore, who had governed for 27 years.

"We are still in a context of political fragility, so I think the timing of this attack is meaningful," Cynthia Ohayon, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told the BBC from Ouagadougou.

"The country has long borders with Mali and Niger, and we know there are armed groups present on the border, so this was probably something we had coming."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35332792

The whole of Africa prone to terrorist attack. Its only God that can help us.

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Why can't Islamic terrorists just go and build their own society in a piece of unoccupied territory in the Sahara dessert, for instance?

They observe civilizations that have been founded hundreds of years of years ago without religious sentiments, and begin to wish they can overrun and convert them to their brand of archaic and disgusting system.

I'm pretty certain if Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabbab, Boko Haram, Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and their likes all over the world decide to relocate to unoccupied or sparsely populated regions to practice whatever their holy book instructs them, it will be to everyone's benefit.

But no! They all have this phobia of seeing people happy and free. In fact, if they were to conquer the world, they still wouldn't be happy. They need to continuosly spill blood and cause mayhem in order to be content.

To the female terrorists among them, I hope they get their 72 virgin males to drill them forever in their paradise!

Nawa oo...who invented guns, bikonu? He must be so sad in his desolate grave!!!

AngryNigerian:
Nawa oo...who invented guns, bikonu? He must be so sad in his desolate grave!!!

I don't really blame the inventor of gun but the person(s) that made the gun to fall into the wrong hands of the blood sucking terrorist.