At least 6 Burkina Faso policemen dead as vehicle hits bomb

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – Burkina Faso authorities say at least six policemen are dead after their vehicle struck an explosive device in the country’s north.

Yatenga regional spokesman Emile Bayala says the police convoy was ambushed Friday night as it was being deployed to the community of Solle to secure the area from a growing extremist threat.

Five other policemen were wounded in a shootout with the attackers.

The area near the border with Mali has seen a number of attacks on schools, police headquarters and administrative offices.

The West African nation requested a French military airstrike on Thursday after scores of heavily armed extremists invaded the Inata mining site in Soum province, killing one gendarme.

More than a dozen members of Burkinabe security forces have been killed in attacks this month.