Abidjan , Ivory Coast ( CNN ) -- Ten Ivory Coast soldiers have been killed in attacks Sunday and Monday by unidentified gunmen in Abidjan , the economic capital , the defense minister said . The attacks come just before the country celebrates its independence on Tuesday . The first of the attacks occurred before dawn on Sunday and took place in Abidjan 's neighborhood of Yopougon , a stronghold of the former president , Laurent Gbago . The gunmen attacked the Abidjan 's 17th district police station after about 50 people were arrested in the neighborhood in a preventive raid carried out by the Ivorian army earlier in the night , defense minister Paul Koffi Koffi said by phone from Abidjan Sunday . Read more : Thousands flee in wake of clashes in western Ivory Coast . He said six armed men carried out the attack in which three soldiers were killed . `` The gunmen arrived in a taxi and started to fire without any warning , '' said Koffi Koffi . The assailants wore army-style uniforms and were armed with AK-47 rifles , he said . The group of armed men then fired at a checkpoint of the Forces RÃ©publicaines de CÃ´te d'Ivoire , the national army 's official name . The base is located in the same neighborhood and the shooting left two more soldiers dead , the defense minister said . There was no reason so far to think the attack was anything other than `` an act of banditry , '' Koffi Koffi said Sunday . But Monday before dawn , 30 gunmen attacked an Abidjan military camp , killing five more . Again , some were wearing army-like uniforms , though not all , he said . He added that one soldier is missing and one attacker was killed in the incident . Read more : Seven peacekeepers killed in Ivory Coast . An Ivoirian soldier who was in the camp during the fight said the gunmen were targeting soldiers from the Dioula ethnic group , a population native to the Northern Ivory Coast and said to support President Alassane Ouattara . At least 3,000 people were killed last year in five months of post-election violence after ex-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Ouattara . An emergency security meeting with army and government officials was held Monday in Abidjan by Ouattara , Koffi Koffi said . The president pledged to reinforce the security in the country before the Independence Day , Koffi Koffi said . There was another attack Sunday against a military camp in Abengourou , which is about 140 miles northeast of Abidjan , the Ivory Coast 's state media reported , citing anonymous sources . The report said no one was killed .
Five Dioula soldiers are killed by unidentified gunmen Sunday , the defense minister says . A separate attack Sunday killed another Five soldiers . An attack also occurred Monday in Alassane Ouattara but no one was killed , state media reports .