14 soldiers killed as JNIM fighters strike military base in Burkina Faso

At least 14 soldiers have been killed following a deadly jihadist attack on a military post in northern Burkina Faso, as violence continues to surge in the region.

Security officials confirmed that the attack occurred on Saturday in Bagade and was carried out by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda operating in the Sahel.

The latest assault highlights growing insecurity in the country, which has been under military rule since the 2022 Burkina Faso coup d’état.

Over the past decade, Burkina Faso has faced persistent attacks from jihadist groups linked to both Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, with the northern region remaining one of the hardest hit.

The incident is part of a recent spike in violence, raising fresh concerns over security and stability in the Sahel nation.

After a relative lull in the West African country, the attacks have resumed recently.

One security official, who asked not to be named, gave a “provisional toll” of “14 soldiers killed and many others missing” after the latest attack.

“Every effort has been made to ‘neutralise’ the individuals who carried out the attack,” another security official said, also speaking anonymously.

“Many of them were killed during the counterattack.”

WAMAPS, a group of West African journalists specialising in security news in the Sahel, said “nearly 20” soldiers and civilian volunteer fighters who support the military (VDPs) could have died.

It said JNIM had released “a shocking video showing around 15 dead soldiers, some of whom had been burned alive”.

VDPs, or Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland, are civilian auxiliaries of the army engaged in combatting extremists.

In February, JNIM claimed responsibility for several attacks on soldiers and VDPs.

More than 130 people were killed over a period of about 10 days, according to ACLED, an NGO which records casualties in conflict worldwide.

The junta in Ouagadougou rarely reports on jihadist attacks now and regularly claims it is regaining ground from armed groups.

According to the Global Terrorism Index, the Sahel region particularly Burkina, Niger and Mali accounted in 2025 for nearly half of all deaths linked to violent extremism worldwide.

The United Nations said in November that the decision by the three military-run countries to leave regional bloc ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) “has created a gap in regional coordination, complicating collective responses to escalating violent extremism across the Sahel.

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