At least 11 soldiers were killed on Wednesday after a group of unidentified gunmen attacked a military detachment in centre-north Burkina Faso, according to the security source said.
“Unidentified gunmen attacked military detachment near the village of Hallale. At least 11 soldiers lost their lives in the attack”, the sources further said, adding some soldiers were reportedly missing.
The defence and security forces managed to kill five gunmen in an exchange of gunfire, according to local media.
Earlier on Tuesday, at least 35 civilians, most of them women were killed after Jihadists attacked a town in northern Burkina Faso, according to the President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
President Kabore declared two days of national mourning in the landlocked West African country.
Earlier this month, at least 14 people were killed after gunmen opened fire inside a church in eastern Burkina Faso. Jihadist attacks have increased in Burkina Faso since 2015.
Last month, at least 37 people were killed and several injured after gunmen ambushed a convoy transporting workers of Canadian gold miner Semafo in eastern Burkina Faso.
In December, a police vehicle was attacked on the same road, resulting in five deaths.
Last year, Semafo, which operates two mines in Burkina Faso, was hit by two deadly attacks.
Burkina Faso is an impoverished and politically fragile country in the Sahel, and its security forces are badly equipped, poorly trained and underfunded.
A number of Islamic extremist groups are known to operate in Burkina.