At least 170 people were "executed" in attacks on three villages in northern Burkina Faso a week ago, a regional public prosecutor said Sunday.

Aly Benjamin Coulibaly said he received reports of the attacks on the villages of Komsilga, Nodin and Soroe in Yatenga province on Feb. 25, with a provisional toll of "around 170 people executed."

The attacks left others wounded and caused material damage, the prosecutor for the northern town of Ouahigouya added in a statement.

He said his office ordered an investigation and appealed to the public for information.

Survivors of the attacks told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that dozens of women and young children were among the victims.

Local security sources said the attacks were separate from deadly incidents at a mosque and a church in northern Burkina Faso that also happened a week ago.

Authorities have yet to release an official death toll for those attacks.

Burkina Faso has been grappling with a terrorist insurgency waged by rebels affiliated with al-Qaida and Daesh that spilled over from neighboring Mali in 2015.

The violence has killed almost 20,000 people and displaced more than 2 million in Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest countries situated in the Sahel, a region wracked by instability.

Anger at the state's inability to end the insecurity played a major role in two military coups in 2022. Current strongman Ibrahim Traore has made the fight against rebel groups a priority.