Dozens of security force members killed in Burkina Faso

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso’s authorities say that at least 40 members of the security forces have been killed by gunmen in the county’s north. Officials said Sunday that dozens of others were injured. Six soldiers and 34 volunteer fighters were killed near the town of Ouahigouya on Saturday afternoon. The 33 wounded were hospitalized in stable condition. The attack comes amid surging violence in the conflict-ridden country linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s killed thousands. At least 44 people were killed by Islamic extremists in multiple attacks in the north earlier this month. The violence has divided a once peaceful country and fueled frustration that led to two coups last year.