Burkina Faso restaurant attack leaves 18 dead

At least 18 people have been killed after gunmen attacked a Turkish restaurant in Burkina Faso's capital.

Police said that "three or four" gunmen pulled up on motorbikes at the Aziz Istanbul restaurant in Ouagadougou at around 9.30pm local time on Sunday.

Then they started randomly shooting at customers.

A witness reported seeing people running out of the restaurant as police and paramilitary forces surrounded it.

Burkina Faso's Communications Minister Remis Dandjinou earlier said three of the attackers were killed by security forces, but he later revised down that figure.

The police operation continued for hours, ending on this morning. Gunfire could be heard almost seven hours after the attack began.

The victims were of several different nationalities, including at least one French citizen, Mr Dandjinou said.

A Turkish national was also among those killed, Turkey's foreign ministry said.

At least eight people were injured in the attack.

Mr Dandjinou described the incident as a "terrorist attack", although no group has yet claimed to have been behind it.

Islamist extremists attacked another restaurant in Ouagadougou, which is in the centre of the West African country, in January last year, killing 30 people.

There has also been an increase in militant attacks along the northern border with Mali.

Burkina Faso is landlocked and is also one of the world's poorest nations.