On 26 April 2021, armed individuals assaulted a special military wildlife unit conducting an anti-poaching patrol on a road leading to the Pama Reserve near the eastern Burkinabe town of Natiaboni. According to reports, gunmen traveling in two pickup trucks and on about a dozen motorcycles ambushed the 15-person patrol and abducted a local soldier and three Europeans — one Irish national and two Spanish nationals — accompanying the patrol. At least two soldiers were wounded in the attack, during which the assailants pilfered firearms, two military trucks and 12 motorcycles. Media reports on 27 April, citing security officials, stated that the dead bodies of the three foreigners have been found. No group has claimed responsibility for the event, although militant Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State actively operate in eastern Burkina Faso.