At least 18 people have been killed in a suspected jihadist attack on a restaurant in the west African nation of Burkina Faso.

Police say that three or four gunmen drove up to the Aziz Istanbul restaurant in the capital Ouagadougou at around 9pm local time on Sunday and opened fire randomly on diners.

Security forces rushed to the scene and apparently engaged the assailants, with people nearby reporting that gunfire continued for seven hours.

Burkina Faso's communications minister Remi Dandjinou said at least 18 people were dead and eight others wounded. He said two of the attackers were also killed.

The dead come from several different countries, with one of the victims known to be French, he added.

Sunday's attack comes less than two years after Islamic extremists killed 30 people at a downtown restaurant that is popular with foreigners.

No one has yet claimed they were behind the latest attack.