Gunmen killed 16 people and wounded others in an attack on a mosque in northern Burkina Faso during Friday prayers, a security source told AFP.
The identity of the attackers is not yet clear, but similar attacks have already targeted imams and mosques attributed by authorities in Burkina Faso to what it calls "extremist jihadist groups".
A source told the agency "gunmen attacked the Great Mosque in Salmusi .. killing at least 16 people."
The source pointed out that 13 people died immediately, while three others died of their injuries later, adding that the two injured seriously.
A resident of the nearby town "Gorum Gorum" confirmed the attack, noting that the residents of Salmusi fled their homes after the operation, and that panic pervaded the area.
Until 2015, Burkina Faso had been spared violence in neighboring countries such as Mali and Niger, but those described by the authorities as "jihadists" - some linked to al-Qaeda and others - began to penetrate the northern and then eastern regions of Burkina Faso before threatening its southern border. And Western.
According to civil society groups in the African country, the death toll has exceeded 1,000, while some 300,000 have fled their homes and nearly 3,000 schools have been closed.