Jihadists kill 12 Burkina Faso troops in raid attack

An armoured vehicle is deployed during a sweep operation in an area near the military barracks of the elite presidential guard (RSP) in Ouagadougou on September 30, 2015. At least 12 soldiers were killed by jihadists on December 17, 2016. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • A security source said the assailants were wearing turbans and waving black flags.

OUAGADOUGOU

At least 12 Burkina Faso soldiers have been killed near the restive border with Mali in what authorities say is the biggest jihadist attack on the Burkinabe army.

“A detachment of our army’s anti-terrorist force suffered a murderous attack, which claimed the lives of 12 of our valiant soldiers and left some wounded,” said President Rock Marc Christian Kabore, in an address to the nation.

“I strongly condemn this horrible attack which shows the cruelty of the perpetrators,” added Kabore, who did not specify the number of injured.

Two more men were missing after around 40 jihadists riding pick-up trucks and motorbikes attacked the army’s Nassoumbou base, some 30 kilometres from the Burkinabe-Mali border, the high commissioner of Soum province Mohamed Dah earlier said by phone.

“They were armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-launchers. They opened fire at the depots, tents and set fire to some of the vehicles,” he said, adding that it was the biggest jihadist attack ever perpetrated against the military.

Dah added that five attackers were killed though their bodies were taken by other assailants.

A security source said the assailants were wearing turbans and waving black flags.

Troops at the Nassoumbou base are part of a 600-strong anti-terrorist battalion deployed in January 2013 when France sent in soldiers to counter a jihadist insurgency in northern Mali. ()