Death toll now 26 in Mali truck blast, including 4 children

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – Burkina Faso’s government says the death toll has risen to 26 after a truck hit an improvised explosive device.

The government says six women and four children are among the dead in Thursday’s blast that occurred shortly after the truck entered Mali from northern Burkina Faso.

The government says authorities are working to identify the victims, who were from both West African countries and had been travelling for a weekly market.

The border area is home to a radicalized preacher whose Ansarul Islam organization has carried out deadly attacks on security forces and civilians.

No one has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s blast.

Burkina Faso’s government reported last month that more than 114 people were killed in 2017 in 89 extremist attacks by Ansarul Islam and others.