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Ivory Coast Boosts Security After al-Qaeda Attack Leaves 21 Dead

  • Assault is third on hotels in West Africa since November
  • Seaside town is popular weekend getaway, close to Abidjan
A photo taken by a witness at the scene shows the victims of a fusillade being loaded on a pick-up truck in front of a hotel in Grand-Bassam, on March 13, 2016 after heavily armed gunmen opened fire.

A photo taken by a witness at the scene shows the victims of a fusillade being loaded on a pick-up truck in front of a hotel in Grand-Bassam, on March 13, 2016 after heavily armed gunmen opened fire.

Photographer: Stringer/AFP via Getty Images
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Ivory Coast increased security in its commercial capital, Abidjan, and tightened its borders after militants linked to al-Qaeda led an attack on hotels popular with foreigners on Sunday.

Gunmen killed 15 civilians and three soldiers in Grand Bassam, Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko told reporters in Abidjan on Monday. Three attackers died, he said. The government had previously said six assailants were slain. Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and al-Mourabitoune claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to al-Akhbar, a Mauritanian newspaper.