Burkina Faso says 18 extremists killed after attacking base

Dakar: Burkina Faso says 18 extremists have been killed after they attacked a security base in the north and were repelled.

A defense ministry statement late Wednesday says one gendarme also was killed in the afternoon attack in Arbinda in Soum province.

Seven gendarmes were wounded, two seriously. A dozen motorbikes and weapons were seized from the attackers.

The West African country is the latest target as extremists linked to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida cross the border from Mali.

Earlier this week the United Nations sounded the alarm on a humanitarian crisis with nearly half a million people displaced in Burkina Faso and many going hungry.