DAKAR:  Six people, a pastor and five congregants, shot dead by unidentified gunmen at a Protestant church in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday, media report stated.

It is the first attack on a church in the country. The African nation has witnessed an upsurge of Islamist violence this year.

Government spokesman Dandjinou said the attack took place in the commune of Silgadji. The details of the incident were awaited.