OUAGADOUGOU: At least 15 civilians were killed and two others injured during a “terrorist” attack on a Catholic church during Sunday mass in northern Burkina Faso, a senior church official said.

“We bring to your attention a terrorist attack which the Catholic community of Essakane village was the victim of today, February 25, while they were gathered for Sunday prayer,” the vicar of the Dori diocese, Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, said in a statement sent to AFP.

The provisional toll was 15 killed and two wounded, he added.

Calling for peace and security in Burkina Faso, Sawadogo denounced “those who continue to wreak death and desolation in our country”.

This is just the latest in a series of atrocities blamed on jihadist groups active in the region, some of which have targeted Christian churches while others have involved the abduction of clergy.

Burkina Faso is part of the vast Sahel region, which has been locked in a battle against rising violent extremism since Libya’s civil war in 2011, followed by an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012.