One Burkina Faso soldier and around 15 jihadists died in fighting over the weekend, the army of the west African nation said on Monday.
The soldier died on Saturday in eastern Komadjari province in a battle that saw about 15 “terrorists neutralized,” it said. “One soldier from the detachment unfortunately fell during the fighting,” the statement said, adding that three others were wounded.
The army’s response “enabled the neutralisation of around 15 terrorists and the recovery of their weapons. A large quantity of ammunition and motorbikes were also seized,” it said.
Burkina Faso has been facing regular and deadly jihadist attacks since 2015, particularly in the northern and eastern regions, close to Mali and Niger.
These attacks, often coupled with ambushes and attributed to jihadist movements affiliated to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda, have killed more than 2,000 people and forced more than 1.4 million to flee their homes.
