Ouagadougou, Dec 25 (TIWN) Jihadists attacked a town in northern Burkina Faso and killed 35 civilians, most of them women,

The violence, which erupted in the town of Arbinda in Sahel region near the country's border with Mali, lasted for several hours, according to a military statement. Seven members of the security forces who responded also were killed.  Jihadist attacks are frequent in the area but the provisional toll released Tuesday evening was unprecedented.  The heroic action of our soldiers has made it possible to neutralize 80 terrorists," President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said. This barbaric attack resulted in the death of 35 civilians, most of them women.  It was not immediately clear where the women were at the time of the attack and why so many died.  There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. A number of Islamic extremist groups are known to operate in Burkina Faso, though they generally do not usually come forward when civilian casualties are high.