A total of 126 hostages were freed and three attackers killed Saturday as security operation at the Splendid Hotel in Burkina Faso's capital ended, a senior official has said.

The attackers are one Arab and two black Africans, according to the country's security minister Simon Compaore.

Some 20 people were killed, and over 40 were receiving treatment in major hospitals in Ouagadougou.

Security operation was also ongoing in another attacked hotel nearby, said the minister.

The Splendid Hotel, not far from the capital city's international airport, often hosts Westerners, including UN staff and journalists.

The Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) militants attacked the hotel and took hostages there Friday.