18 dead in suspected jihadist attack on eatery
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Hours after suspected Islamic extremists opened fire as patrons dined at the popular restaurant where she worked as a waitress, Amy Sawadogo was still wandering around barefoot at a crisis center asking about her colleagues.
“I just want to go to the hospital and see who is still alive,” the distraught young woman, who was still dressed in her uniform, said early Monday. “I am calling them in vain, no response.”
The death toll rose to 18 and authorities said many of the victims were children dining with their families on a Sunday night at the Aziz Istanbul restaurant when horror struck once again in Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou.
At least 22 people were wounded.
Less than two years ago, jihadists killed 30 people in a similar attack at the nearby Cappuccino cafe, which only recently reopened in a city where fear of another attack has been high.
Eight of the dead in Sunday’s attack were citizens of Burkina Faso, authorities said. Three Lebanese and two Canadians were also killed, according to the victims’ respective foreign ministries. Other victims came from Kuwait, Senegal, Nigeria, Turkey and France, state prosecutor Maizan Sereme said.
The attack began around 9 p.m. Sunday when the Aziz Istanbul, an upscale Turkish restaurant patronized by many foreigners, was packed with diners. Two young men wearing jeans and jackets drove up on motorcycles and began indiscriminately shooting at the people inside with Kalashnikovs, witnesses told The Associated Press.