Six soldiers were killed and several reported missing Tuesday in a blast followed by gunfire in eastern Burkina Faso, security sources said. The attack came on the heels of a weekend massacre which claimed up to 50 lives in a country wracked by jihadist violence. "A military patrol struck an improvised explosive device while on the road from Madjoari to Pama" in Kompienga province, a security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Six soldiers lost their lives during the attack," the source said. The assailants fired on the soldiers after the explosion. "Several others have gone missing," another security source said. The second source said land and air reinforcements had been dispatched to the area. "Operations are underway to find the missing soldiers and to track down the assailants," About 800 people have been killed in jihadist violence in Burkina Faso since 2015, according to an AFP tally, and nearly 600,000 displaced. ab/ach/dl