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A nation-wide mourning began yesterday, a day after Burkinabe and French forces ended a more than 12-hour siege at the upscale Splendid Hotel in downtown Ouagadougou.

When the gunfire and explosions finally stopped, authorities said 18 people were killed in the hotel and 10 were killed at the nearby Cappucino Cafe.

Among the victims were the wife and young daughter of Italian Gaetan Santomano, who owned the cafe. Government officials say the toll also includes six Canadians, five Burkinabes, two Swiss nationals, two French citizens and one American.

At least four attackers died in the assaults. There were claims that some of those involved were women, the BBC has reported.

Burkinabe Security Minister Simon Compoare said 176 hostages had been rescued. The bodies of three "very young" attackers had been found, he said.

He said two black Africans and an Arab were among the militants killed.

Swiss authorities said its two nationals who were killed were also in Burkina Faso for humanitarian reasons.

The al-Qaeda group claiming responsibility for the carnage released an audio tape titled: "A Message Signed with Blood and Body Parts."

Yesterday, French authorities were back at the scene carrying out a forensic investigation. Special forces from France came during the overnight siege from their base in neighbouring Mali to help Burkina Faso's military put an end to the killings.

Some guests returned to the Splendid Hotel to pick up their luggage and other belongings left behind when guests fled for their lives when the gunmen began firing to kill as many people as possible.

In a separate incident two Australian humanitarian workers were kidnapped by extremists in northern Burkina Faso. Surgeon Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn were abducted Friday. The couple, reported to be in their 80s, were kidnapped in the northern town of Djibo where they had run a medical center for 40 years.

The attack, which began around 7:30 p.m. last Friday, was the first of its kind in Burkina Faso, a largely Muslim country that had managed to avoid the kinds of jihadist attacks that have destabilised neighbouring Mali since 2012.

Burkina Faso, a former Frency colony, recently held its first presidential election since a coup earlier last year.

That coup toppled long-time leader Blaise Compaore, who had governed for 27 years.