Four Ukrainians Among Dead In Burkina Faso Attack

French special forces take position around the Splendid hotel following an attack by Al-Qaeda linked gunmen on January 16. Twenty-nine people were killed in the assault.

Four of the people killed during a January 15 terrorist attack on a hotel and a restaurant in the capital of Burkina Faso were Ukrainian citizens, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced on January 16.

A total of 29 people have been reported killed in the attack, responsibility for which was claimed by a group called Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

At least 10 of the victims were foreigners, including six Canadians, two French, two Swiss, and one U.S. citizen.

The four attackers -- two of them reportedly women -- were killed by security forces.

Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore described the attack as "cowardly and vile."

The African country has a Muslim majority and has been in turmoil since its longtime president was ousted by a popular uprising in late 2014.

Based on reporting by AP, Interfax, AFP, and TASS