TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (MNA) – The police in Burkina Faso killed 40 terrorists, the army said on Sunday.

The terrorists ambushed a police reconnaissance mission in Koulpelogo province in the northeast of the country on Saturday, the military said.

Five police officers were also killed during the attack, Peoples Gazette reported.

Armed groups have been active in the Sahel state and its neighbors Mali and Niger for years.

Some of the armed groups have sworn allegiance to the terrorist groups ISIL and al-Qaeda.

Thousands have died in the conflict with armed groups with millions of people displaced.

MP/PR