COTONOU - Unidentified gunmen attacked a border crossing in northern Benin and killed three people and wounded one late on Tuesday, Malanville Mayor Gado Guidami said on Wednesday.

The attack took place at a customs post near the Niger border around midnight, he said without giving any details on the motive of the attack.

Benin's northern neighbours are insurgency-plagued Burkina Faso and Niger, making it vulnerable to cross-border attacks by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

"According to the information I received, three individuals came on a motorbike," Guidami told Reuters. "They opened fire. They killed two civilians and a soldier, and a second soldier was wounded," he added.

Mayoral spokesperson Cherif Babio said an official notice regarding the attack would be published to inform the public. REUTERS