New Footage of the Ivory Coast terrorist attacks that killed 14, where Muslim gunmen targeted Christians

Hotel security camera video captured scenes of an al Qaeda attack on a beach resort town in Ivory Coast on Sunday (March 13).

Gunmen from al Qaeda's North African branch killed 16 people at Grand Bassam, the latest in a string of deadly attacks that have confirmed the Islamists' growing reach in West Africa.

Six shooters targeted hotels on the beach, with one, Etoile du Sud, releasing security video showing people fleeing in panic, the sounds of weapon fire and a man with an assault rifle.

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said 14 civilians and two soldiers were killed and the six gunmen were killed in clashes with Ivorian security forces.

The French president's office said four French nationals were killed.

A short drive from Abidjan - one of West Africa's largest cities with around 5 million inhabitants - Grand Bassam fills up on weekends with thousands of beachgoers.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has carried out other recent attacks in the region, claimed responsibility for Sunday's shootings, according to the U.S.-based SITE intelligence monitoring group, citing an AQIM statement.

It said the attack had been carried out by just three militants.

Though previously untouched by Islamist violence, Ivory Coast, French-speaking West Africa's largest economy and the world's top cocoa producer, has long been considered a target for militants.