by Loucoumane Coulibaly
ABIDJAN, 03 Dec. - (ANA) - Eleven people, including at least one soldier, were killed on Wednesday during an attack by unidentified gunmen in a village in Ivory Coast near the border with Liberia, state radio said.

Witnesses had earlier put the death toll at three.

The West African nation has been attacked by unidentified armed men from Liberia on at least three previous occasions in the past two years, including one assault in January in which two soldiers were killed.

"It started at 4 a.m. (0400) in the morning," said Juliette Abai who lives in the village. "At least one soldier and two assailants died."

Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi was not immediately available to comment but said he would make a statement on state television at 8 p.m. (2000) on Wednesday.

Ivory Coast emerged from a brief civil war in 2011 that capped a decade of political turmoil and has since seen rapid economic growth, becoming a darling for investors. - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 03 December 2015 - - -