Burkina troops retake hotel after Islamist attack kills dozens

Security forces in Burkina Faso retook a hotel in the capital on Saturday from al Qaeda fighters who seized it in an assault that killed two dozen people from at least 18 countries and marked a major escalation of Islamist militancy in West Africa.

Until Friday's attacks the landlocked nation, an ally of Western governments against jihadist groups in the arid reaches of the southern Sahara, had largely been spared the kinds of attacks that have plagued its neighbors.

The assault follows a similar raid in November on a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako which killed 20 people, including citizens of Russia, China and the United States.

The Ouagadougou assault, claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), signaled an expansion of operations for Islamist militants who are forging new alliances and stepping up their activities, echoing the growth of Islamic State in the Middle East.