Al-Qaida affiliate claims responsibility for Burkina attack, says it killed 60 soldiers

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — JNIM fighters are seen in a screenshot from a video published by the Al-Qaida-linked Az-Zallaqa propaganda network (Via Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

DAKAR  -  Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM has claimed responsibility for an attack targeting a military post in Burkina Faso's northern Loroum province in which the group said 60 soldiers were killed, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Tuesday.

The U.S.-based non-governmental organization, which tracks online activity of Islamist militants, said JNIM had posted messages on Monday and Tuesday in which it took credit for four assaults in Burkina Faso and Mali.

The attacks highlight the difficulties the three Sahel nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, ruled by military leaders, are facing in containing the insurgents.

Burkina authorities have not commented on the latest attacks.

The most notable attack occurred in the Burkina town of Sole, where JNIM fighters raided the army military post and killed soldiers, SITE Intelligence said, without specifying on which day it took place.

Another Burkina attack killed 10 members of a pro-government militia known as VDP in eastern Gnagna province, SITE added.

In a separate statement, SITE said Ousmane Dicko, head of Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JMIN) in Burkina, had appeared in a video urging residents of Djibo, located in the north of Burkina Faso, to leave the town for their own safety.

An army base in Djibo came under attack on Sunday morning, and a police station and market were also targeted, security sources told Reuters.

Three Djibo residents described an intense assault involving hundreds of fighters on facilities housing soldiers and pro-government militiamen. Although there was no official toll, the witnesses said dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed.

"The population saw soldiers burnt in the flames of explosions. Multiple military arsenals were taken and civilians were killed by gunfire," a teacher in Djibo, told Reuters.

A series of videos on social media on Wednesday showed unidentified insurgents on foot and motor-bikes roving around the eastern town of Diapaga near the border with Niger and Mali.

Gunfire rang in the air and black smoke billowed at a distance in one video, while in another, the insurgents posed for pictures and tore down flags of junta-led countries and Russia.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the videos.

"JNIM is demonstrating that it can seize major towns with little deterrence from security forces, and it is likely to continue mounting such attacks in its strongholds," said Beverly Ochieng, senior analyst at Control Risks.

 (Additional reporting by Portia Crowe and David Lewis; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Gareth Jones)