Photo: Gunmen Storm Three Hotel In Ivory Coast, Shoots 12 People Dead. Too Bad

At least 12 people have been killed after armed men launched a gun attack on three hotels at an Ivory Coast beach resort, officials said

The attack took place in the southeastern town of Grand Bassam which is located about 40 km east of the country’s economic capital, Abidjan.

An officer from the national police told Reuters news agency that at least 12 people were feared dead.

“For the moment, we have a total of 12 dead, including four Europeans,” the officer told security forces during a briefing.

The Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko said that security forces “neutralised six terrorists”.
“Three hotels in Grand Bassam were attacked this Sunday by armed men,”Bakayoko said on state television.

“Security and defence forces intervened immediately and were able to neutralise six terrorists. The clean-up operation is under way.”

An eyewitness told Al Jazeera that she saw one gunman and people started running and taking cover as soon as shots were heard before adding that it took police 30 to 45 minutes to arrive at the resort.

The attackers were “heavily armed and wearing balaclavas” and “fired at guests at L’Etoile du Sud, a large hotel which was full of expats in the current heatwave”, a witness told AFP news agency.

A Reuters witness saw two people wounded and a video taken by a witness showed seven people lying on the ground following the attack by armed men who have yet to be identified.

The historic town of Grand Bassam is a UNESCO World Heritage site.