17 dead in suspected terror attack in Burkina Faso

At least 17 people were killed and another eight were wounded in a suspected terror attack at a Turkish restaurant in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou.

Express.co.uk. quoted a police spokesperson as saying that the restaurant witnessed heavy gunfire and security forces have been deployed at Ouagadougou post attack.

Burkina Faso's communications minister Remi Dandjinou confirmed that security operations are underway at the restaurant, named Aziz Istanbul Patisserie, which is part of the Hotel Bravia.

Soldiers are deployed on the scene, with armoured vehicles as they launch an operation against suspected jihadists in the city.

The assailants were reportedly armed with automatic firearms.

According to the witnesses, three armed men arrived at around 10:30pm BST and opened fire on customers sitting outside the cafe.

One person, who was in the hotel at the time of the incident, said there are several victims following the attack.

Last year, some terrorists reportedly killed 30 people when they launched an overnight assault on a hotel in the city, which had been popular with UN staff and foreigners.

Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in West Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It shares a northern border with Mali, which has long battled Islamic extremists.