Six Burkinabe police officers have been killed in an attack in northern Burkina Faso, in a region prone to jihadist violence. The six were killed after armed militants ambush them in Soum province.
The attacks on security apparatus in Burkina Faso are on the rise as Jihadist groups attempt to establish a foothold and claim more territory in the terror-infested Sahel region. The attack came after the government said 29 civilians were killed and six wounded in two gun and IED attacks in the northern province of Sanmatenga during the weekend.
Burkina Faso has been battling an escalating wave of attacks over the last three years, beginning in the northern region near the border with Mali. But violence has spread to other parts of the country to her borders with Togo, Benin, and Niger.
Most attacks are attributed to the jihadist group Ansar ul Islam, which emerged near the Mali border in December 2016, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM) which has sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. However, recent months have seen a spike in terror activities that are attributed IS affiliates under the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
