At Least 13 Dead in Attacks in Burkina Faso, Growing Target of Al Qaeda

Even after several hours, a full picture of the situation was still coming into view, but the government reported that at least seven members of the security forces, as well as six assailants, died in the attacks.

There were grim signs that the toll might be far higher: Agence France-Presse, citing security sources in France and West Africa, estimated that the death toll was at least 28.

Government officials did not immediately assign blame for the gunfire and explosions that erupted in the downtown area of Ouagadougo, the capital, but speculation immediately centered on radical jihadist groups that have attacked the city in the past.