AQ's Burkina Faso attack

waltky · Jan 17, 2016

American Missionary Killed in Burkina Faso Attack...

American Missionary Killed in Burkina Faso Attack
Jan 17, 2016 | An American missionary and orphanage director was among the dozens killed by Al Qaeda-linked militants in the West African nation of Burkina Faso Friday night.

Mike Riddering was sitting in a cafe frequented by westerners across the street from the Splendid Hotel in the capital city of Ouagadougou when gunmen rolled up and opened fire. A pastor from nearby Yako who worked with Riddering was able to escape, according to a family friend. "Every week, Mike would go out and feed the widows in the surrounding villages," said Brant Brooks, who has known Riddering for three years, in an interview with Fox News. "He would bring them grains and cooking oil and anything else they might need," added Brooks, who also adopted a son from Riddering's orphanage. State Department spokesman Adm. John Kirby confirmed Riddering's death in a statement late Saturday.

Mike Riddering, an American missionary and orphanage director, was one of 28 persons killed in a Jan. 15 attack by militants in Burkina Faso's capital.

He was one of 28 that were killed in the attack in the city's center. 126 hostages were later freed and four jihadist fighters were killed. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time, as they are with all those affected by this brutality," Kirby said. "I don't think it's a coincidence the attack happened a month after a new president was elected," said Brooks on the timing of the Al Qaeda-affiliated attack. Riddering's wife, Amy Boyle Riddering, confirmed her husband's death in a Facebook post a short time ago. "My best friend, partner in crime and love of my life...You left quite a legacy here. I can only imagine the adventures you are having now," Amy Riddering said..

Mike Riddering had been living in Burkina Faso wife his wife, Amy, and an adopted daughter since 2011. He also has two adult biological daughters who live in the United States. "In 2011 Mike and I left our life in south Florida and traveled with our family halfway around the world to Burkina Faso. He submitted himself to The Lord's Will by dedicating the last four years of his life to advocating and defending the most vulnerable people in society," Amy Riddering said. "He made an eternal impact on an immeasurable number of people in Burkina Faso and throughout the world. His legacy on earth will not be forgotten," she said.

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Survivors recall narrow escape from Burkina Faso attack
Jan 17,`16 -- As al-Qaida fighters attacked the cafe where he worked, Clement Djiguende was saved by chance: A jihadist who had been firing at patrons simply ran out of bullets.

The gun stuck for a moment. Then the militant, dressed in black and a turban, tried several times to reload. That's when Djiguende and another server bolted toward the bathrooms not far from the bar where only moments earlier they had been serving cold drinks on just another Friday night. About 20 other people were already crowding into the toilets in a bid to save their lives as the sound of gunfire resumed at the Cappuccino Cafe. Others tried to climb through the restaurant's broken windows. Some managed to get to the roof where they waited for the carnage to stop. On the cafe's large outdoor terrace, "wounded people were crying out in pain," the bartender recalled. "The jihadists then started killing the wounded."

At least 10 of the 28 victims of the Ouagadougou attacks lost their lives at the cafe that night, including the Ukrainian wife and son of the restaurant's owner, officials confirmed. An American missionary who ran an orphanage in Burkina Faso was also killed while meeting with a local pastor at the cafe. An audio tape later released by the North Africa affiliate of al-Qaida that claimed responsibility for the carnage was titled "A Message Signed with Blood and Body Parts." The attackers spoke with an Arabic accent when screaming in French, witnesses said. The cafe had long been a popular hangout in Ouagadougou, with a menu of Western dishes and a bakery that sold birthday cakes and pastries, among other items.

Witnesses said four attackers stormed the cafe around 7:30 p.m. Not only did they shoot at patrons, they also created another deathtrap by setting the cafe ablaze. Soon it began filling with smoke, forcing Djiguende and the others in the restrooms to wet pieces of their clothing in the sink to cover their faces as they tried to escape by crouching close to the ground. Heat from the flames had broken the huge windows, and people were trying to crawl out without getting cut by the glass. "Upon reaching the terrace, my hand touched a body, but oddly enough, I kept it together," he said. "Then I crossed another and then a third body, where I laid and pretended for a while that I too was dead."

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AQ's Burkina Faso attack

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