The attack in a Protestant church in the country’s east has shocked the nation. The president of the West African nation Roch Marc Christian Kabore confirmed the 14 people were killed in a “barbaric attack” in the town of Hantoukoura. He said several people were wounded.
On Twitter, Mr Kabore offered his “deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded”.
The identities of the gunmen were not immediately clear, nor were additional details about the attack, which took place near the border with Niger in the Est region.
Burkina Faso’s armed forces were caring for the wounded and searching the area, the government said in a statement.
This year an Islamist insurgency has ignited ethnic and religious tensions
The violence Sunday occurred in an area known for banditry that has come under attack over the past year from suspected jihadist groups aligned with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Its timing, during hours of worship, mirrored other attacks on Christians this year, this is a new phenomenon in a West African country that has long prided itself on its religious tolerance.
On November 6 gunmen opened fire on a convoy of buses carrying mine workers in the Est region, killing 39.
Islamic extremists have been active in Burkina Faso since 2015.
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He added that the captors’ intentions to transfer the hostages were part of the reason why the French forces had to strike early.
The identity of the American woman remains unclear.
She has been put in the care of US authorities.
French and South Korean nationals, meanwhile, were greeted by President Emmanuel Macron at a French military airport on Saturday.
Mr Macron on Tuesday defended the military operation as he attended the funeral ceremony of the two Marine commandos, Cedric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello.
He said: “The mission was perilous. The mission was necessary. We had to save them.”
Mr Macron also echoed Lecointre’s comments in the speech, saying that the kidnappers were planning to hand over the hostages to “terrorists” in Mali within a few hours.
He said: “France is a nation that doesn’t abandon its children, whatever the circumstances.
“Those at the other end of the planet, those who attack a French person, should know that our country will never back down.”