Ouagadougou - An explosion rocked Burkina
Faso's army headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou on Friday
and black smoke could be seen billowing above, a Reuters witness
said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. But a
witness at the scene told Reuters that masked gunmen with
backpacks attacked the army headquarters after the explosion.
A Reuters witness said other smaller explosions came from
the headquarters after a first larger blast and that security
forces were converging on the scene.
Burkina Faso, like other countries in West Africa, has been
targeted sporadically by jihadist groups operating across
Africa's Sahel region.
Suspected jihadists killed at least 18 people last August
during a raid on a restaurant in Ouagadougou and militants have
targeted Burkinabe security forces along its remote northern
border region with Mali.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed
responsibility for an attack on a restaurant and hotel in
Ouagadougou in January 2016 in which 30 people were killed.
Five regional countries launched a new taskforce last year
to tackle Islamist militants in the zone, to which international
donors have committed a half-billion dollars.