OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — A governor in Burkina Faso says at least 37 people are dead after gunmen attacked a convoy carrying employees of a Canadian company near a mine in the volatile West African nation.

Col. Saidou Sanou, governor of the country's Eastern region, said late Wednesday that a provisional toll also shows some 60 people were wounded in the ambush.

Montreal-based Semafo said in a statement that the convoy had been accompanied by a military escort.

The violence underscores the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, which has been infiltrated by jihadists active for years in neighboring Mali.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but suspicion immediately fell on jihadist groups that have launched scores of attacks on churches and public officials across the north of Burkina Faso.