World

The Latest: Al-Qaida-linked group claims Burkina Faso attack

03 of March 2018

CORRECTING DATE TO MARCH 3 - Security forces outside the General Staff of the Armed Forces building in central Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Saturday March 3, 2018. The markets returned to near normal Saturday, after Islamic extremists struck the French Embassy and army headquarters Friday in simultaneous attacks of gunfire and explosives, killing eight people and wounding more than 80 others. (AP Photo/ Ludivine Laniepce),CORRECTING DATE TO MARCH 3 - Security forces outside the General Staff of the Armed Forces building in central Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Saturday March 3, 2018. The markets returned to near normal Saturday, after Islamic extremists struck the French Embassy and army headquarters Friday in simultaneous attacks of gunfire and explosives, killing eight people and wounding more than 80 others. (AP Photo/ Ludivine Laniepce)

An al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist group based in Mali is claiming responsibility for the attack in the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso that killed at least eight people and wounded more than 80 others. Security forces killed at least eight attackers after they targeted the French Embassy and army headquarters in Ouagadougou on Friday. The Mauritanian new agency Alakhbar says the militant group Jama Nusrat Ul-Islam wa Al-Muslimin issued a message late Saturday saying it staged the attack.

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — The latest on the deadly attacks in the capital of the African nation of Burkina Faso (all times local):

11:45 p.m.

An al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist group based in Mali is claiming responsibility for the attacks in the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso that killed at least eight people and wounded more than 80 others.

Security forces killed at least eight attackers after they targeted the French Embassy and army headquarters in Ouagadougou on Friday.

The Mauritanian new agency Alakhbar says the militant group Jama Nusrat Ul-Islam wa Al-Muslimin issued a message late Saturday saying it was behind the attacks. The agency often carries claims of responsibility by jihadi groups for attacks staged across West Africa.

The agency says the extremist group carried out the attack in Burkina Faso in retaliation for the killing of one of its leaders in a recent raid by French troops.