Death toll in Burkina Faso restaurant attack hits 19

Gunmen killed nine locals and nine foreigners in the attack.

Burkina Faso said Saturday that a police officer had died from wounds sustained when militants opened fire on a restaurant in the capital Ougadougou, bringing the death toll from the attack to 19.

Police officers wait near the hearse carrying the body of a man killed during the attack at the Aziz Istanbul Turkish restaurant in Ouagadougou, before a ceremony on August 17, 2017 (AFP)

Defence Minister Jean-Claude Bouda said Sawadogo Yassia, a gendarmerie officer, had died of gunshot wounds from the August 13 attack on the Aziz Istanbul restaurant.

A security source told AFP the officer had died while being transferred to Tunisia for treatment.

Gunmen killed nine locals and nine foreigners as they dined on the terrace of the restaurant.

No group has claimed responsibility but Burkina Faso has witnessed a string of such attacks attributed to Islamist extremists, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

A security source said the attackers most likely came from Mali, where jihadist fighters frequently ambush security forces.