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| - Gunmen injured an Ivorian soldier in an overnight attack on a military camp near the economic capital Abidjan that left three assailants dead, the army said Wednesday. At around 1:00 am (0100 GMT), the gunmen "opened fire on guard posts at the N'dotre military base in the town of Abobo" north of Abidjan, a statement said. Citing a provisional toll, it said one Ivory Coast soldier was "slightly wounded", while "on the enemy side three were killed and one was injured and taken prisoner". The assailants had the "clear intention of penetrating by force," said the statement by army chief of staff General Lassina Doumbia. It said mopping-up operations were underway. A security source earlier told AFP that "detonations were heard at the Anonkoua Koute military camp", referring to N'dotre by its former name. The attack was led by a group of individuals in a black 4x4 and taxis, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity. He said a manhunt was under way for the assailants. The injured gunman is in custody and receiving care, he said. A Liberian passport and driving licence were found on two of the assailants who were killed, according to security sources. The Ivorian armed forces were placed on alert Tuesday throughout the country "due to the risk of action by subversives," the sources said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was very concerned by the attack, his spokesman said. Photos circulating on social media showed the bodies of three civilians at the feet of soldiers. The N'dotre base houses soldiers trained to join UN peacekeeping operations in the troubled West African country. The attack on the military camp came three weeks after suspected Islamist militants killed three members of Ivory Coast's security forces in attacks on the country's border with jihadist-torn Burkina Faso. No group has claimed responsibility for those attacks. Security experts have long warned that the jihadist campaign in the Sahel, which sprang up in northern Mali in 2012 before advancing into Niger and Burkina Faso, could spread into countries on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. eak-de-ck/pvh/jj
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