Khartoum, Nov 8 (IANS): The Sudanese presidential palace Saturday came under attack when an armed person crossed the palace security barrier and opened fire on the guards, killing two of them before another guard took the attacker down.

"An armed person attacked the gate of the Republican Palace. He did not respond to the call to stop and crossed the security barrier and shot one of the guards," Xinhua quoted the Sudanese Presidency as saying in a statement Saturday.

"The attacker forced the guards to use force and shoot him dead. Two guards were killed in the attack," it added.

The statement further indicated that the attacker could be mad, saying that "information indicated that the behaviour of the attacker was not normal". An investigation into the shooting was underway.

According to the Sudanese Media Centre report, a young man, probably mad, was killed after he attacked the guards at one of the gates of the Republican Palace.

The report added that the young man was carrying a sword with which he stabbed one of the guards, took his gun and opened fire, shooting the same guard and killing his colleague before the other guards shot him dead.

It added that two guards were rushed to the hospital, one of them was stated to be in a serious condition.

The Sudanese presidential palace is located in central Khartoum, on the south bank of the Nile river, and is heavily guarded.