41 killed in Burkina Faso ambush including volunteer leader

By ARSENE KABORE and SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso’s government says 41 people were killed last week after an ambush in the country’s north blamed on Islamic extremists. Among those killed was Soumaila Ganame, who led a group of volunteer fighters helping the army battle jihadis. In announcing the death toll, government spokesman Alkassoum Maiga declared two days of national mourning. Authorities said militants had ambushed a convoy in Loroum province on Thursday. Violence in the once-peaceful West African nation is escalating as attacks linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State increase. More than 50 gendarmes were killed in November in the largest attack on the country’s security forces in recent memory.