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KOULPÉLOGO, Burkina Faso (LifeSiteNews) – Eight Christians attending a baptism in Burkina Faso were killed by Islamic terrorists this week according to national media reports in the west African nation. 

Jihadists attacked the rural Sandiaba village in the eastern province of Koulpélogo on Monday morning, shooting eight dead at the baptism, while no information emerged on any injured victims of the attack. 

A local resident told media that “the victims were attending a baptism ceremony when armed individuals burst into the scene at around 9am (local and GMT), shooting several people.” 

AIB Media reports that the Burkinabe army later killed 22 terrorists in southwest Burkina Faso on Monday, destroying three bases and seizing weapons, ammunition and drugs.  

READ: Eight dead, 38 kidnapped in second attack on Nigerian Christians in two weeks

Before that, the northern province of Bam saw two attacks on Sunday, one of which involved a vehicle carrying women being hit with explosives, leaving six dead and two injured.  

Some 1.8 million people have been displaced since attacks by groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda began in 2016, and members of the army seized power in a January 23 coup this year, ousting the president and Burkinabe government from parliament in the capital city of Ouagadougou. 

The north and east of Burkina Faso, near Mali and Niger, have seen most of the violence, as insurgent terrorists launch guerilla-style attacks on Christians within the predominately Muslim country.  

Burkina Faso’s ongoing struggle with terrorism began in January 2016 when 30 people were killed by al Qaeda in two attacks on a hotel and restaurant in Ouagadougou, with many western expatriates among the victims. 

This May saw some 50 residents of the eastern town of Madjoari killed under a bridge when jihadists who were blockading the area attacked the group as they were trying to leave in search of supplies. 

WATCH: Kidnapped Christians plead for freedom as Nigerian Islamists continue terror

June brought another bloody attack on the country, with at least 79 men killed in the northern village of Seytenga when terrorists targeted stalls and shops on Saturday, June 11.  

“The terrorists came into the town on Saturday, market day,” a survivor told AFP. “They opened fire as soon as they entered.”  

“They only aimed at men. They went from shop to shop, sometimes torching it. They opened fire on anyone who tried to run away. They stayed in the town all night,” said the man after fleeing to Dori, the nearest large town. 

“As soon as the shooting broke out on Saturday evening, I fled into the bush with my family,” said another survivor. “We stayed there all night before reaching Dori on Sunday morning. We didn’t take anything and we learned that they set fire to homes, so we have lost everything.” 

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