BFF-32 Eight jihadists killed in Ivorian-Burkinabe operation: ICoast

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Eight jihadists killed in Ivorian-Burkinabe operation: ICoast

ABIDJAN, May 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Eight suspected jihadists were
killed and another 38 captured in a joint operation by Burkinabe and
Ivorian forces near the two countries’ shared border, the Ivory Coast
army said Sunday.

The captured men — 24 in Burkina Faso and 14 in Ivory Coast —
were handed over to intelligence services, the Ivorian army said in a
statement, adding that a “terrorist base” was destroyed at Alidougou
in Burkina Faso.

The joint operation also seized arms, ammunition, USB keys and cell
phones, it said.

Operation “Comoe”, named after a river that flows through the two
countries, was launched in early May, it said, praising the “perfect
coordination between the two armies”.

The fighting took place near the northeastern Ivorian city of
Ferkessedougou and Banfora in southwestern Burkina Faso — although a
Burkinabe security source had said Saturday that the entire operation
was carried out in Ivory Coast.

Sunday’s statement said “no terrorist base exists on Ivorian
territory which may have served as a zone of refuge during previous
offensives” by the Burkinabe army.

A Burkina Faso military source told AFP that a Burkinabe soldier
was wounded and hospitalised in Korhogo, in northern Ivory Coast.

The presence of Islamist fighters to the north of Ivory Coast’s
Comoe national park was detected more than a year ago.

Security sources say they are jihadists operating in Burkina Faso
who shelter in Ivory Coast.

Jihadist violence in Burkina Faso has claimed nearly 900 lives since 2015.

BSS/AFP/MRU/2126hrs