At least 16 worshipers were killed and two others seriously injured after a mosque was attacked in the West African state of Burkina Faso, security sources have said.

A group of unidentified gunmen opened fire inside a mosque in the village of Salmossi in the northern province of Oudalan, according to local media reports.

#BurkinaFaso: A group of unknown gunmen made an incursion this evening into the village of Salmossi, #Oudalan Province, and killed thirteen people (provision toll) after opening fire in the local mosque pic.twitter.com/NluwEx4x03 — MENASTREAM (@MENASTREAM) October 12, 2019

The attack occurred late on Friday, a security source told AFP, though reports only started appearing on Saturday. Thirteen people were killed at the scene, while three others succumbed to their injuries later.

Burkina Faso has been battling an Islamic insurgency for the past four years. The majority of attacks in the former French colony have been attributed to the Ansarul Islam and JNIM (Group in Support of Islam and Muslims) jihadist groups, which have been responsible for the deaths of more than 500 people.

They target both Christians and Muslim clergy, who they consider to be insufficiently conservative. In July, 15 people were killed when militants attacked a Christian church in the northern village of Diblou.

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