Ivory Coast hotel shooting: Gunmen kill 14 'including four Europeans' in Grand Bassam beach resort
Attack on L'Etoile du Sud hotel in resort popular with Westerners claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Security forces evacuate an injured person in Bassam, Ivory Coast, Photo: Reuters
Weapons used by terrorists in Ivory Coast
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg and Rory -13 Mar 2016
Gunmen wearing balaclavas stormed three popular hotels at a beach resort in Ivory Coast on Sunday, killing as many as 14 people including four Europeans.
Beachgoers were filmed screaming and running into nearby hotels for cover as up to four gunmen sprayed bullets indiscriminately while shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
Witnesses described the attackers as African, armed with Kalashnikovs and grenade belts and dressed in casual clothes who shot at “anyone they could find” as they “calmly” walked along the packed beachfront of Grand Bassam, 25 miles east of the capital Abidjan at lunchtime on Sunday.
At least one is thought to have been killed as they met police and a shootout ensured. At around 6.30pm local time, an army officer in Grand Bassamsaid two attackers were encircled by special forces.
The attack is the third on West African establishments popular with Westerners since November. In November, the Radisson Blu in Mali’s capital Bamako was targeted in an attack which left 20 dead, then in January gunmen entered the Hotel Splendid and nearby Cappuccino CafĂ© in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou, killing 30.
Ivory Coast's government says that security forces have "neutralised" six armed men who staged attacks which killed two soldiers among civilians.
Hamed Bakayoko, state minister, said in a statement posted to the government Twitter that security sweeps are underway and a toll of people killed and injured will be announced in the coming hours.
On Sunday night, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) were reported to have claimed responsibility for the attack on the Telegram app.
