At least 20 people are reported to have been killed and other wounded in an Islamist attack in the city center of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

The four-star hotel is frequently used by westerners and United Nations staff, while according to witnesses speaking to media, about 100-150 people are believed to have been in the hotel and restaurant at the time of the attack.

Terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the attack in the hotel and the nearby restaurant, according to SITE Intelligence Group.

The “mujahideen brothers” of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb “broke into a restaurant of one of the biggest hotels in the capital of Burkina Faso, and are now entrenched and the clashes are continuing with the enemies of the religion,” the SITE Intelligence Group quoted an Arabic-language AQIM message as saying.

“O Allah, make it successful, and O nation of the Cross, wait for the glad tidings of what will harm you,” the message added.

Burkina Faso’s Communication Minister, Remis Dandjinou, told AFP that 63 hostages were released including Burkina Faso’s Labour Minister, Clement Sawadogo, while firefighters found 10 bodies on the terrace of the Cappucino restaurant opposite the hotel.

Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of the dead and wounded.

“We know that the gunmen won’t get out of the hotel alive,” an eyewitness told Associated Press. “Our country is not for jihadists or terrorists. They got it wrong.”