13 traders dead after truck hits explosive device in Mali

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – A local councilman says at least 13 people have died after their truck hit an improvised explosive device after entering Mali from northern Burkina Faso.

Moumouni Tamboura, who works in Djibo village in Burkina Faso, said Thursday the dead were traders who leave Burkina Faso every Thursday for a weekly market in Mali. He says they were killed near Boni village in Mali.

Burkina Faso army vehicles have hit explosive devices in the region in recent months, killing soldiers.

The area along the border is home to a radicalized preacher whose Ansarul Islam organization has carried out deadly attacks on security forces and civilians.

Burkina Faso’s government reported last month that more than 114 people died in 2017 in 89 extremist attacks by Ansarul Islam and others.