At least seven troops and one civilian were killed in two alleged terrorist strikes in Burkina Faso on Thursday, according to security and local sources.

An assault on a military unit in the east left at least seven soldiers dead, while another attack on a bus killed a civilian and wounded a dozen passengers in the north.

“The military unit of Madjoari, a rural commune in the province of Kompienga in the eastern region, was the target of a violent terrorist attack early this morning,” a security source said.

“The provisional toll is seven soldiers killed and significant material damage.”

Reinforcements including air support were deployed to search the area, the source added.

A local politician contacted by AFP confirmed the attack, deploring the “fall of the military unit” and describing it as Madjoari’s “last bastion” against jihadist groups.

Armed attackers targeted the bus in Seytenga in the northern province of Seno also on Thursday morning, residents said.

On Saturday, around 40 people — many of them civilian volunteers with the army — were killed in three suspected jihadist attacks in the same regions.

Burkina Faso has been battered by jihadist raids since 2015, with movements linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

More than 2,000 people have been killed and 1.8 million displaced.

The new head of state, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, says he has made the security crisis his “priority”.

Damiba overthrew elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore in January, accusing him of being ineffective in the face of jihadist violence.

After a relative lull when Damiba took power, a surge in attacks has claimed almost 200 lives.

Damiba announced the formation of local committees in early April in an attempt to interact with jihadist groups and reduce violence.