Attack in northern Burkina Faso kills at least 15

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed following an attack on a convoy transporting traders in a town in northern Burkina Faso on Friday, the government said on Saturday.

The attack, carried out by an unidentified group of assailants, left several others wounded. Many more were still unaccounted for, the government said in a statement.

Burkina Faso has been battling armed combatants with links to al Qaeda and the Islamic State since 2017.

Hundreds have been killed in the past year in the Sahel nation, and over half a million people have fled their homes due to attacks which have also fuelled ethnic and religious tensions.

On Thursday, Burkina Faso's armed forces said troops destroyed a militant camp in another province in the north of the country. It said 10 assailants were killed, while a soldier was wounded during the operation.

(The story corrects paragraph 5 to clarify soldier was injured, not killed).

(Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Christina Fincher)