Fourteen civilians, two soldiers dead in Ivory Coast resort attack
The gunmen were not identified and it was unclear if they were affiliated with any militant group. Security forces were called to the scene.
By REUTERSUpdated: MARCH 13, 2016 21:36Ivory Coast attack
At least 16 people, including four Europeans and two soldiers, were killed on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on beachgoers at a resort town in Ivory Coast, a officer from the national police said."For the moment, we have a total of 12 dead, including four Europeans ... We don't know yet if there are others. We are doing clean-up operations right now," the officer told security forces during a briefing attended by a Reuters reporterThe shooting took place at Grand Bassam, a weekend retreat for Abidjan residents about 40 km east of the commercial capital Abidjan. Its beaches, bars and hotels are popular with Westerners.The gunmen were not identified and it was unclear if they were affiliated with any militant group. Security forces were called to the scene.According to an online monitoring group, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb says it is responsible for the attack."I saw seven dead that I filmed. There were four attackers. I was swimming when it started and I ran away," said Dramane Kima, who showed the video of the bodies to Reuters.He also took pictures of grenades and ammunition clips that he believed had been left behind by the attackers.A Reuters witness saw two wounded people.The incident took place nearly two months after Islamist fighters killed dozens of people in a hotel and cafe frequented by foreigners in neighboring Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou, raising concern that the reach of militancy in West Africa was spreading.