Reuters, LOME, May 11 – According to the government, eight soldiers were killed and 13 were injured in an attack in northern Togo on Wednesday, possibly the first deadly incursion on its territory by Islamist extremists who have killed thousands in neighbouring nations.

A group of heavily armed militants stormed an army position in the Kpendal prefecture near the Burkina Faso border before dawn, according to the administration.

The attackers had not yet claimed responsibility. The authorities blamed “terrorists,” but did not elaborate.

In recent years, Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked groups have carried out hundreds of attacks across West Africa’s Sahel region, focusing mostly on the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali.

Togo has escaped the bloodshed that has forced millions of people to evacuate their homes, but security experts have highlighted concerns about the possibility of operations spreading to coastal states like Togo.