Four Burkina Faso paramilitary police died Thursday in an attack on a base near the border with Mali, a region that sees frequent attacks by jihadists, security sources said.
The base in Barani “was the target of a terrorist attack led by an unidentified armed group” the source told AFP.
Another reported “major material damage including a burnt vehicle” and said the security forces had launched a search and sweep operation.
The same northern base was attacked in October when one gendarme was killed and three were wounded. An assailant was also killed.
An attack in the east last weekend left five soldiers dead.
The country has seen a surge in attacks blamed on Islamist groups – mainly the Islam group and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) – in the last four years.
At first, they were concentrated in the north but the capital Ouagadougou has suffered three attacks, and they are on the rise in the east.
More than 310 people have died in the attacks since 2015, including a total of nearly 60 in Ouagadougou, according to an AFP tally.