Mogadishu-KNN-More than a dozen soldiers have been killed in a “major attack” by “terrorist armed groups” in northern Burkina Faso, the army said, adding that it could be the deadliest ever against the armed forces.
With other soldiers still missing, the death toll could pass 20, several security sources said late on Monday.
“In the early morning, the military detachment of the Koutougou department in Soum province was the target of a major attack by armed terrorist groups,” said a statement from the general staff.
“A provisional report states that more than a dozen soldiers were killed, and several were wounded.”
The heaviest armed attack against Burkina Faso’s army to date killed 12 soldiers at Nassoumbou, also in Soum province, in December 2016.
Most attacks in the former French colony are attributed to the Ansarul Islam group, which emerged near the Mali border in December 2016, and to the JNIM (Group to Support Islam and Muslims), which has sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda in the Maghreb.
Those groups are believed to be responsible for about 500 deaths since 2015. Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou has been attacked three times.
