A large group of heavily armed Islamist militants killed 14 soldiers of the Burkina Faso national army and injured seven others in a dawn attack in the north on Monday, the government has said in a statement.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the military detachment, which took place near the town of Yirgou, in the central northern Sanmatenga Province, an area overrun by jihadist insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
Yirgou was the scene of another ambush by Islamist militants in June this year, when at least 15 police officers were killed. Their unit had been visiting the town on a relief mission following a bout of militant violence.
Attacks linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State have surged across the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, killing thousands and displacing millions more across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Approximately 1.2 million people have been displaced by the violence in Burkina Faso alone.
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