Four killed as Nigerian troops repel 'Islamist' attack

A street vendor passes by a partially burnt police station in the northern Nigerian city of Kano on January 25, 2012. By Aminu Abubakar (AFP/File)

KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - Two suspected Islamists and two civilians were killed on Thursday in a shootout between gunmen and soldiers in Nigeria's northern city of Kano, a military spokesman said.

A group of gunmen suspected to belong to the Boko Haram Islamist sect opened fire on a military checkpoint on the outskirts of Kano, leading to an hour-long shootout, Lieutenant Iweha Ikedichi told AFP.

"Our men repelled an attack around 15:00 hours (1400 GMT) by some terrorists on one of our checkpoints in Mariri area of the city in which two of the terrorists were killed and five others arrested," Ikedichi said.

"Two civilians were also killed by stray bullets in the encounter," he said.

Kano, Nigeria's largest city in the north, has in recent days seen an upsurge in deadly attacks on security personnel.

On Monday and Tuesday four policemen were killed by suspected Islamists in two separate attacks on a police checkpoint and a police patrol van in the city that has seen a lull in such attacks.

Violence linked to Boko Haram's insurgency has left about3,000 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security forces.