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22 killed as gunmen attack hotels in Ivory Coast beach resort

Sunday, 13 March 2016 4:02 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 13 March 2016 7:03 PM ]

Security forces evacuate an injured person in Bassam, Ivory Coast, March 13, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

Attacks on three hotels in the Ivory Coast beach resort of Grand-Bassam have killed 22 people, including at least four Europeans.

Armed assailants attacked three hotels in Grand Bassam, which is popular with foreign tourists on Sunday.

“Six attackers came onto the beach in Bassam this afternoon... We have 14 civilians and two special forces soldiers who were unfortunately killed,” President Alassane Ouattara said during a visit to the site of the attacks.

The six attackers were also killed, he said.

A French Foreign Ministry spokesman has meanwhile said one French person is among those killed in the shooting.

French President Francois Hollande on Sunday denounced the “cowardly” attacks.

“France will bring its logistical support and intelligence to Ivory Coast to find the attackers. It will pursue and intensify its cooperation with its partners in the fight against terrorism,” he said in a statement.

Grand-Bassam is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of commercial hub Abidjan.

Attacks in recent months on luxury hotels in the capitals of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso have left dozens of people dead, leaving West African nations scrambling to boost security in the face of terrorism.

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