Three police were killed in western Burkina Faso early Friday when their barracks were attacked by "about 50" assailants, the defence ministry said in Ouagadougou, the Burkinabe capital.

The gendarme brigade in the district of Samorogouan came under pre-dawn attack, it said in a statement, adding that one of the assailants was killed. The region lies close to Mali, which has been plagued by jihadist violence.