American missionary among dead in Burkina Faso hotel attack

Associated Press Television

In this grab taken from video by Associate Press Television, two unidentified armed men approach a vehicle, near to a hotel, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. Attackers struck an upscale hotel popular with Westerners in Burkina Faso’s capital late Friday, fueling the recent political turmoil in the West African country. Three hours later, gunfire could still be heard as soldiers in an armored vehicle finally approached the area.

By Brahima Ouedraogo, Associated Press

Published Friday, Jan. 15, 2016 | 1:49 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 | 7:08 p.m.

The mother-in-law of an American missionary has confirmed that he is among those killed after al-Qaida fighters attacked a hotel and cafe in Burkina Faso's capital of Ouagadougou.

Carol Boyle said Michael Riddering, 45, died in the Cappuccino Cafe, where he was to meet a group that was going to volunteer at the orphanage and women's crisis center he ran with his wife, Amy Boyle-Riddering. Riddering was in the cafe with a pastor, and when the attack started they ran in different directions, Boyle said, and it wasn't until a family friend found him in the morgue that they knew he was dead.

At least 28 people died in the attack by fighters, which triggered a siege lasting more than 12 hours.

Associated Press writers Ludivine Laniepce in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal; and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.