At least 10 persons were killed and several others injured when their minibus hit a roadside bomb in eastern Burkina Faso on christmas day.
The passenger minibus was travelling near the village of Bougui on Sunday afternoon, local time, when it hit a mine, Colonel Hubert Yameogo said in a statement.
While the injured were taken to the hospital in Fada N’Gourma, the main town in the east, the rest of the passengers on the bus disappeared, Colonel Yameogo said.
The government is restoring security to the area and trying to locate the missing passengers.
Violence linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group has wracked the country for more than six years, killing thousands and displacing nearly 2 million people.
The government’s inability to stem the attacks led to two coups this year, with each junta leader vowing to make security a priority.
However, attacks are continuing and large areas of land are being cut off by jihadis.
The east and the Sahel regions have been some of the hardest-hit parts of the country, with towns becoming besieged by jihadis who prevent civilians from moving freely.
Sunday’s attack came one day after another mine exploded in the east, between Ougarou and Matiacoali villages, injuring five soldiers, according to an internal security report for aid groups seen by The Associated Press. The mine was targeting a unit near a mining site, the report said.
A resident of Fada N’Gourma who visited people in the hospital on Sunday told the AP that some of the severely injured had died and that everyone was terrified.