Foreign hit squad killed Haiti's President

A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, including retired Colombian soldiers, assassinated Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse.

BBC News reports after a gun battle in the capital Port-au-Prince, 17 were detained, some at the house they were using, others after entering Taiwan's diplomatic compound.

Three suspects were killed by police and eight are still being sought.

Bloodied and bruised, arrested suspects were shown to the media along with a slew of seized weapons.

BBC News reports it is still unclear who organised the attack and with what motive.

The attack took place on Tuesday, when gunmen broke into the president's home in Port-au-Prince, shooting him dead and wounding his wife.

Moïse who is 53-years-old was found lying on his back with 12 bullet wounds and a gouged eye.

Martine Moïse who is 47 was seriously wounded and is in a stable condition after being flown to Florida for treatment.

Police said the hit squad included mainly Colombians, along with two Haitian-Americans.

Found in the suspects' possession were firearms, sets of US dollar bills, the president's personal chequebook and the server that held surveillance camera footage from his home.

Taiwan confirmed that 11 of the suspects were arrested after breaking into a courtyard at its compound.

Angry civilians had joined the search for the gunmen and helped police track down some who were hiding in bushes.

The crowd set fire to three of the suspects' cars and destroyed evidence.

Source: BBC