An explosion rocked Burkina Faso's army headquarters in the capital of Ouagadougou on Friday and black smoke could be seen billowing above, a Reuters witness said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. But a witness told Reuters that masked gunmen with backpacks attacked the army headquarters after the explosion.
Other smaller explosions came from the headquarters after a first larger blast and that security forces were converging on the scene, according to a witness report.
Police said security units were deployed to the scene and urged people to stay away from that area.
The French Embassy also said its compound and the French institute were being targeted.
Burkina Faso, like other countries in West Africa, has been targeted sporadically by jihadist groups operating across Africa's Sahel region.
Suspected jihadists killed at least 18 people last August during a raid on a restaurant in Ouagadougou and militants have targeted Burkinabe security forces along its remote northern border region with Mali.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for an attack on a restaurant and hotel in Ouagadougou in January 2016 in which 30 people were killed.
Five regional countries launched a new task force last year to tackle Islamist militants in the zone to which international donors have committed $500 million US.
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