30 Killed In Attacks In Burkina Faso: Official Toll

Ouagadougou, Aug 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2021 ) :Thirty people, including 15 soldiers, have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks on villages in northern Burkina Faso, the defence ministry announced Thursday.

The villages near the border with Niger "were the target of attacks by armed terrorist groups" on Wednesday, leading to the death of 11 civilians, the ministry said in a statement.

On top of the deaths, cattle were stolen and properties set on fire.

A unit of soldiers and civilian auxiliaries were despatched but 15 troops and four of the auxiliaries were also killed, while ten of the attackers were "neutralised", the statement added.

The defence ministry assured that the area where the attacks took place "is now in the control of military units and the counter-offensive to find the assailants is ongoing on the ground and in the air."Earlier a regional official with the VDP volunteer self-defence force said the attacks occurred in Burkina's Sahel administrative region, hitting the villages of Badnoogo, Bassian, Tokabangou and Gadba near the Niger border, and the district of Pensa in the Centre North region.

"Several bodies were recovered" said the member of the VDP, which fights jihadists alongside the Burkinabe defence and security forces.