PICTURED: The Australian Doctor And His Wife 'Kidnapped By Al-Qaeda-Linked Jihadists In Burkina Faso' After Decades Of Humanitarian Work In The War-Torn Nation

Dr Ken Elliot, 80, and his wife Jocelyn are allegedly the couple kidnapped in Burkina Faso, with a Malian Islamist group saying the couple were in the hands of Al-Qaeda-linked Jihadists

*The Australians kidnapped are believed to be an elderly Australian couple *Claims on social media the couple is Perth's Dr Ken Elliot and wife Jocelyn  *Burkina Faso government says the pair were taken near the Mali border *Couple are reportedly from Perth and had lived in Africa since the 1970s *News comes as terrorist attack on hotel in Burkina capital left 27 dead

An Australian missionary and his wife have reportedly been kidnapped by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists from their home in war-torn West Africa.

Daily Mail/AFP report continues:

 Dr Ken Elliot, 80, and his wife Jocelyn are allegedly the couple kidnapped in Burkina Faso, with a Malian Islamist group saying the couple were in the hands of Al-Qaeda-linked Jihadists.

The couple are originally from Western Australia, but moved to Djibo in 1972 to open a medical centre.

Dr Elliot and his wife travelled to West Africa in 1972 and built the only hospital in Djibo

The Burkina government said the pair were kidnapped in Baraboule, near the west African country's borders with Niger and Mali.

News of the kidnapping came as a jihadist assault on an upmarket hotel in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou left at least 26 people dead, including many foreigners.

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Burkina Faso's Communications Minister Remi Dandjinou said Saturday the couple were Australian nationals, correcting an earlier interior ministry statement identifying them as Austrian.

A spokesman for Malian militant group Ansar Dine, Hamadou Ag Khallini, told AFP in a brief phone message that the couple were being held by jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked "Emirate of the Sahara".

The Elliots moved to Djibo 43 years ago on a 'mission from God' to open the first medical centre in the region and Dr Elliot performs around 150 surgeries each month. 

He said they were alive and more details would be released soon. 

There has been an outpouring of love and messages of support as people learn of the couple's kidnapping.

‘Terrorist if you knew that he is a man of God. Terrorist if you knew that he is a humanitarian… who dedicated his life to servicing humanity… If you knew that he is good and you are bad. Thais man has saved lives and brough hope to a lot of families. A lot of sick people are currently suffering in his hospital in Djibo. Terrorist if you knew you wouldn’t dare,’ wrote Hamidou Ouedraogo. 

‘We love you and we pray for you Dr Elliot that you will return safe and sold to the dear village that you saw be born! You’ve barely been gone a day and we already miss you, all the people of the town ask what this beautiful space in the heart of Djibo is worth without you,’ Adama Barry.

 ‘We are Elliot, you are etched in our heart, God will protect you.’

‘God save this man who came to help the people in the name of God. I love this man, I saw him build his hospital himself, brick by brick… God save the king to the happiness of the people and the sick,’ wrote another.

Mr and Mrs Elliot both grew up in rural Western Australia. In his early twenties, Dr Elliot worked with Freemantle Hospital and the Kalgoorlie based Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The couple 'received a call from the Lord to open a Medical Ministry at Djibo with a particular view of reaching the Fulani people.'

Together they 'literally built the hospital with their own hands using Ken's farming skills.'

The hospital they built, the Centre Medico-Chirugicale de Djibo is still the only hospital in the region and has space for 120 patients. Jocelyn assists Dr Elliot with a portion of the Lab work. Dr Elliot is responsible for both the anaesthetics and surgical work during his surgeries.

The hospital is primarily surgical and must run on minimal resources, meaning the Elliots 'live very simply.' The couple return to Australia every five years for a number of months to maintain their Medicare coverage.

There has been an outpouring of love and messages of support as people learn of the couple's kidnapping: Dr Elliot and his wife 'received a call from the Lord to open a Medical Ministry at Djibo with a particular view of reaching the Fulani people'

A European diplomatic source confirmed they had received intelligence on Friday that a western couple had been kidnapped in Burkina Faso, without giving their nationality.

"According to our information, the kidnappers' objective is to take the hostages towards Mali," the source added, declining to give further details.

A military base in the same region was attacked by militants in August last year, with one Burkinabe policeman killed.

The Emirate of the Sahara is a branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operating in northern Mali, according to experts.

AQIM has claimed responsibility for the hotel attack saying it was "revenge against France and the disbelieving West", according to a statement carried by US-based monitoring group SITE.

The attack and kidnapping will heighten concerns that jihadist groups are casting their net wider in search of targets in west Africa, two months after a siege at a luxury hotel in Mali where 20 people were killed, again mostly foreigners.

Ansar Dine is one of the jihadist groups that seized control of northern Mali in March and April 2012.

An international military intervention, launched in January 2013, largely drove the Islamists out, but areas of the north remain beyond the control of Malian and international forces. Jihadist attacks have spread since the beginning of 2015 towards central and southern Mali.