40 terrorists neutralized in Burkina Faso

DAKAR, Senegal

At least 40 terrorists were killed in an operation in northwest Burkina Faso, the state news agency reported Tuesday.

The terrorists were neutralized in a military operation near Barakuy village in Mouhoun province, said the report, noting that many vehicles and items belonging to the terrorists were also seized during the operation.

Meanwhile, heavily armed unidentified militants launched an attack on a prison in northwest Burkina Faso overnight Saturday, local media reported Sunday.

The attack at the civilian prison, located in the town of Nouna in the province of Kossi in the Boucle du Mouhoun region, left one person dead while 60 prisoners escaped – its entire prisoner population, including a woman – the Burkina Information Agency (AIB) reported, citing local sources.

The landlocked West African country has been battling an insurgency that spread from neighboring Mali over the past decade.

Burkina Faso's army on Friday said that 11 soldiers were killed in attacks over the past week and more than 20 insurgents were killed in an offensive.

Northern Burkina Faso has witnessed terrorist attacks since 2015, in which more than 1,000 people have been killed and over 1 million displaced, according to official data.

The West African country has been ruled by a military junta since January following a coup that ousted President Roch Kabore.

Junta leader Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has declared security as one of his priorities but a surge in deadly attacks has been reported in recent weeks.