Checkpoint attack kills Ivory Coast soldier, 5 assailants

A soldier and five assailants were killed Saturday when a military checkpoint came under attack in southern Ivory Coast, a military source said, in the latest of a series of anti-army assaults. The attack took place near the town of Grand-Lahou, 140 kilometres (85 miles) west of the economic capital Abidjan. "A checkpoint of the Republican Force (army) was attacked late morning at Irobo by men in a pick-up. A soldier was killed, another was injured and transferred to Abidjan. Five attackers were killed," the source told AFP. One terrified resident said locals were holed up in their homes after the violence. A string of recent attacks targeting the army has sparked a sharp rise in tension more than a year after the post-electoral crisis of December 2010 to April 2011 claimed 3,000 lives. The government of President Alassane Ouattara has blamed supporters of former president Laurent Gbagbo whose refusal to accept the election result led to the crisis. Earlier this month, armed men attacked an army base, a prison and police stations near Abidjan. Other attacks in recent weeks have targeted army posts and a border crossing with Liberia. On August 18, armed men also attacked Gbagbo's party headquarters in a raid that Gbagbo loyalists blamed on Ouattara supporters.