Jihadist attack in eastern Burkina Faso kills 11 soldiers

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso

Eleven soldiers were killed and nearly two dozen injured by jihadists targeting a military base in eastern Burkina Faso, the government said.

Injured soldiers have been taken to hospital and aerial support killed 15 attackers trying to flee after Thursday’s attack in Madjoari in Kompienga province, Burkina Faso’s army said in a statement.

For six years the West African country has been ravaged by violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that has killed thousands and displaced nearly 2 million people.

Mutinous soldiers ousted the democratically elected president in January promising to stem the violence, but since then attacks have increased.

Within a 72-hour period last week nearly 60 people, including civilians and security forces, were killed in violence targeting villages in four regions across the country, according to an internal security report for aid workers seen by The Associated Press.

"This attack in Madjoari is yet another indication of militants’ capability to target security forces bases and unfortunately showing the severity of (the) security situation in northern and eastern regions,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based organization focused on economics and policy.