Terror Attack in West Africa's Burkina Faso; 20 May Be Dead

Stephen Kruiser | 4:34 PM on January 15, 2016

In this grab taken from video by Associate Press Television, an armed policeman patrols the area after an attack on a hotel, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. Attackers struck an upscale hotel popular with Westerners in Burkina Faso's capital late Friday, fueling the recent political turmoil in the West African country. Three hours later, gunfire could still be heard as soldiers in an armored vehicle finally approached the area. (Associated Press Television via AP)

Via BBC:

Eyewitnesses said two car bombs went off outside the Splendid hotel at around 19:30 local time (same as GMT).

Three to four masked men then stormed the Splendid Hotel, which is used by UN staff and westerners, witnesses said.

A member of staff at the nearby Cappuccino cafe told Agence France Presse that “several people” had been killed there.
Local media report that at least one person has been taken hostage inside the building.

One jihadi monitoring group said al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed it was behind the attack.

This is the third major international terror attack in the last four days.

The Twitter account of Agence France-Presse says at least 20 people are dead:

#UPDATE At least 20 dead in Burkina Faso hotel attack, hospital chief tells AFP https://t.co/7wSebmMhsE #Ouagadougou pic.twitter.com/TDU9eHFVFt

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 16, 2016

We are just three days removed from President Obama reassuring the American people that there were no existential threats out there to be worried about. All that’s happened since then are three terror attacks, American sailors being “detained” by Iran, and the stock market taking a historic swan dive.

As I have cautioned many times in the past, never ask if things can get worse these days because the answer is always “Yes.”