Ouagadougou – An improvised explosive device killed five soldiers on patrol in northern Burkina Faso, the army command announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The attack happened at around 15:00 local time when the soldiers were engaged in reconnaissance near the town of Mentao, said the statement. One of the vehicles in the convoy set off the device.
“The provisional toll is five soldiers killed and one other wounded,” the statement added.
Ground and air reinforcements had been sent to the evacuate the victims and search the zone.
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This is just the latest in a series of attacks generally attributed to jihadists operating in the region.
A jihadist insurgency in neighbouring Mali spilt over into Burkina in 2015.
The armed groups are linked to al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State.
More than 1 500 people have died in the attacks, which have forced at least 1.4 million people to flee their homes since 2015.
Most of the attacks have taken place in the north and east of the country, near the borders with Mali and Niger.
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Picture: Getty Images
Source: AFP
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