AKIPRESS.COM - At least 20 people were killed and others were taken hostage when Islamist gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital city of Burkina Faso on Friday, as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack, reports AFP.

Security forces in the early hours of Saturday began an assault to reclaim the Splendid Hotel and entered its lobby, part of which was on fire, a Reuters witness said.

An AFP journalist at the scene reported seeing three men with turbans firing weapons outside the Splendid Hotel, located in a busy, central area of the Burkina Faso capital regularly frequented by United Nations staff and westerners.

“There are many hostages from many nationalities in the hotel,” Foreign Minister Alpha Barry told FRANCE 24.

Around 10 cars were also on fire in front of the hotel, the journalist said. Medical personnel moved wounded away from the area.

A Reuters witness saw gunmen emerge from the hotel and fire into the air to keep crowds away. A vehicle carrying security personnel arrived and shortly afterwards and an intense gun battle began.

The Cappuccino café-restaurant opposite the hotel, which is also popular with westerners, had also been targeted, a witness who spoke to AFP added.

A US defence official said that France had requested US intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance support in the city and at least one US military member in Burkina Faso was giving “advice and assistance” to French forces at the hotel.

The government has not ruled out calling for help from French special forces stationed in the country, Barry said in a telephone interview.