Attack on French embassy, army in Burkina Faso kills eight

A military barrier is placed along a street leading to Burkina Faso's army headquarters in the capital Ougadougou, Burkina Faso. (Photo: Reuters)

Attackers in Burkina Faso’s capital killed eight people and wounded dozens more in a coordinated assault on the army headquarters and French embassy that France’s foreign minister said was likely carried out by“terrorist groups”.

West Africa’s arid Sahel region is suffering a spike in violence by militant groups, some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, that is drawing an increasingly aggressive response from countries including France and the United States.