DOUALA, Cameroon 

The bodies of at least 51 soldiers who were killed when their unit was ambushed last week in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso were found Monday during combing operations, said the army.  

"At the end of the day on Monday 20 February, 43 bodies were found, bringing the provisional toll to 51 fallen soldiers," the army's communication and public relations department said in a statement.

It was the second "provisional" death toll announced during the same day by the security authorities of the West African country and follows an ambush that targeted a military unit between Deou and Oursi in Oudalan province in the Sahel region Friday.

The previous assessment of the sweep operations published in the morning reported that eight soldiers were found dead, three wounded, several missing and about 60 terrorists killed.

Subsequently, "an intensification of air actions allowed the neutralization of a hundred terrorists," the source reported.

He said the military mobilization has led to "important victories in recent weeks" against the terrorism that has plagued the country since 2015.

Terrorist attacks that result in the deaths of dozens of military personnel are not unheard of.

Burkina Faso is also undergoing a transition period after two coups perpetrated under the pretext of the inability of the government to secure the country.