Gunmen attack church in Burkina Faso

Gunmen killed six people, including a priest, on Sunday during Mass at a Catholic Church in Burkina Faso, officials said. The attack in the northern town of Dablo is the second major attack against Christians in the country in recent weeks. At least 20 gunmen stormed the church at about 9 a.m. and opened fire as congregants tried to flee, Dablo Mayor Ousmane Zongo told Agence France-Presse. The attackers burned down the church, along with some shops and a cafe, and looted a local health center. “There is an atmosphere of panic in the town,” Zongo said. “People are holed up in their homes, nothing is going on.”

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Islamic extremists who target Christians and foreigners are active in the country.

On April 28, at least six people died in a similar attack on a Protestant church in the northeastern province of Soum. Last week, French special forces rescued four foreign hostages during an overnight raid in northern Burkina Faso, including two French nationals, an American woman, and a South Korean.