Deadly shooting at Ivory Coast hotel claimed by Al-Qaida

Four French nationals have been confirmed among the dead after an Al-Qaida terror attack at a beach resort on the Ivory Coast.

In total, 18 people were killed including 15 civilians and three members of the security forces.

President Alassane Ouattara has declared three days of mourning for the country, which has never before been hit by Al-Qaida.

The death toll following a shooting at a hotel in the Ivory Coast this weekend has risen to 18, the country's Interior Minister has confirmed.

According to the official 15 civilians and three members of the nation's security forces were killed in the attack on the L'Etoile du Sud hotel in the beach resort of Grand-Bassam.

Manchester City's Yaya Touré has posted a touching tribute to the victims of the deadly terror attack in the Ivory Coast.

Writing on his official Facebook page, Touré, 32, said: "I am saying prayers for all the mourning families and offer comfort and support to the Ivorian population."

• Sixteen dead including two soldiers in Ivory Coast attack

David Cameron has said that he is "appalled" by the terrorist attack in the Ivory Coast and a blast in the Turkish capital Ankara which killed at least 32 people.

The Foreign Office has advised Britons to avoid the Grand Bassam resort in Ivory Coast in the wake of the terror attack.

"If you are in the vicinity follow the instructions of the security authorities, " the advice says.

It also warns there is a "high threat from terrorism" across the Ivory Coast and says travellers should be vigilant.

"Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners."

The North African branch of Al-Qaida has apparently claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack on a resort in the Ivory Coast which killed at least 16 people.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb said they were behind Sunday's attack on the resort town on Grand Bassam, according to the Site terrorist monitoring group.

Sixteen people including two soldiers were killed, while the six terrorists also died in clashes with security forces.

The French President Francois Hollande has denounced a "cowardly" attack on an Ivory Coast resort that left at last 16 people dead.

At least one French citizen is among the dead after gunmen stormed beaches in the resort of Grand Bassam.

Mr Hollande said that France would track down those responsible and increase anti-terror measures in the country in a message of defiance.

Sixteen people including two soldiers have been killed in an apparent terror attack on a resort town in the Ivory Coast, the country's president has said.

It came as the French Foreign ministry reported that one of its citizens among those dead.

Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara said that all six terrorists had also perished.

At least four Europeans are reported to have been killed in the assault on Grand Bassam.

The UK Foreign Office has said it is "urgently" working to find out if any Britons were among the casualties.

A witness to the deadly Ivory Coast attacks has said that they saw four men roaming the beach and firing shots.

"We were on the beach, we heard the gunshots and we saw people fleeing -- we understood this was an attack," witness Braman Kinda told AFP.

Kinda said four attackers had "roamed the beach firing shots".

A witness also told the news agency they heard one of the killers shouting "Allahu akbar", Arabic for "God is greatest".

If confirmed, it would suggest that Islamist militants may have been behind the attacks.

Security forces have "neutralised" six terrorists involved in an attack on a resort in Ivory Coast, the country's interior minister Hamed Bakayoko said on state television.

Witnesses have said that multiple masked gunmen were involved in the attack on Grand Bassam, which is popular with Western visitors.

It is not yet clear how many assailants were involved, and there has been no claim of responsibility from any terror group.

Alexis Adélé, a correspondent for Le Monde newspaper, said an employee at the hotel involved had told him the attackers had arrived by boat.

At least 12 people including four Europeans have been confirmed dead after an attack on a beach resort in the Ivory Coast, Reuters reports.

Multiple masked attackers are said to have opened fire in Grand Bassam, in the south of Ivory Coast.

The resort is around 40 km east of the commercial capital Abidjan and is popular with Westerners.