Gunmen crossed the border from Liberia and launched a pre-dawn attack on an army base in western Ivory Coast, killing at least two soldiers, a local member of parliament has said.

The assault on the town of Grabo was the third deadly raid in the area in less than a year. Politician Yaya Coulibaly said gunfire erupted at around 3am and an exchange of fire between the assailants and Ivorian soldiers lasted over an hour. Ivory Coast's government has blamed previous attacks on supporters of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, who are based in Liberia.