Two Burkina Faso soldiers and five civilian defence volunteers have been killed during an ambush on a military patrol in the restive north of the country, security sources said Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday as soldiers from the military detachment in Banh in Loroum province were carrying out a patrol in the area, the sources said.
Another security source said the civilian casualties were "defence volunteers who were with the military unit during the patrol," adding two soldiers also died.
On May 11, jihadists killed eight Burkinabe soldiers during an attack close to the Niger border in Yagha province, security sources said at the time.
According to UN figures, jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger left nearly 4,000 people dead last year.
