The Islamic State (IS) organization claimed, Saturday, November 14, one of the largest attacks against the Burkinabè army, in which 14 soldiers were killed, Wednesday, in the north of the country in the midst of the electoral campaign for the presidential and legislative elections of November 22.

Represented in the Sahel by the jihadist armed group Islamic State in the Great Sahara (EIGS) of Abu Walid Al-Sahraoui, ISIS claimed responsibility for the ambush in an Arabic message circulated by its propaganda agency on social networks.

While the official report shows 14 dead in this ambush against a "military patrol" on the Tin Akoff-Beldiabé axis (Oudalan province), the jihadist group claims in its claim to have killed 20 Burkinabè soldiers.

On Friday, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Sahel, also claimed responsibility for the attack in a message posted on social networks.

Several candidates suspend their campaign for two days

The two jihadist groups, rivals in this region of the world and elsewhere, have several times in the past claimed the same attacks out of "opportunity" and "possibility of easy political gain", according to a Malian academic who does not wish to be quoted.

The region of Wednesday's attack, in the north of the border country of Niger and Mali, is located in the so-called "three borders" area, where the IS organization has been very established for several years.

The Burkinabè army has suffered heavy losses in recent years against jihadist groups.

Among the most serious: 12 soldiers killed in December 2016 in Nassoumbou (north), eight in March 2018 in the attack against the general staff of the armies in Ouagadougou, and "ten" in December 2019 in Hallalé (north) .

The most serious attack occurred on August 19, 2019, when jihadists hit a military base in Koutougou (north), killing 24 soldiers.

Burkina Faso is in the midst of an electoral campaign for the presidential and legislative elections of November 22.

Several candidates, including the current president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, suspended their campaign for two days.

With AFP

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