Soldiers in Burkina Faso killed 146 jihadists in response to a terrorist attack in which 14 civilians were killed, the Army said on Tuesday.
Militants killed 14 people when they attacked the town of Kain near the West African nation’s border with Mali on Sunday, army spokesman Lamoussa Fofana said in a statement released.
The army launched ground and air operations to search for the terrorists, with the operation still ongoing, according to the spokesman.
Heads of state of the G5 Sahel met in the capital, Ouagadougou.
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The group includes Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad and was set up to fight terrorism and organised crime in the Sahel region.
The north of Burkina Faso, which borders on Mali and Niger, serves as a refuge for Islamist extremists, who also regularly attack the civilian population.
Bukina Faso, a country of roughly 20 million people, belongs to the world’s 10 poorest nations, according to the United Nations.
NAN
