Burkina Faso: Body of Canadian found days after abduction

Burkina Faso’s security ministry says a Canadian national has been found dead a day after reports that he had been kidnapped by suspected jihadists in the West African nation’s volatile north near the Niger border.

The ministry told Radio-Canada on Thursday that Kirk Woodman’s body was found 100 kilometers from the site where he worked for Progress Mineral Mining Company.

The prefect of the rural commune of Sebba, Felix Ouedraogo, says the body of a white man riddled with bullets was transferred to a hospital in Dori by defense and security services.

Woodman was kidnapped by suspected extremists Tuesday night during a raid on a mining site in in Tiabongou in Yagha province.

Burkina Faso recently declared a state of emergency in the region as attacks by Islamic extremists increase.