Attacker kills two soldiers guarding Sudan's presidential palace

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - An attacker with a knife killed two soldiers guarding a gate at Sudan's presidential palace before being shot dead by other troops on Saturday, the president's press secretary said. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was not in Khartoum's Republican Palace at the time of the attack, press secretary Emad Ahmed told Reuters. "A little while ago someone attacked soldiers who guarded one of the gates of the palace and (the soldiers) fired on him," Ahmed said. "(He) did not respond to calls to stop and was shot dead. Two soldiers were killed during the attack by someone who seemed to be suffering from a mental illness," he said, adding that an investigation was under way. Bashir, 70, was at his official residence in another part of Khartoum at the time of the attack, the press secretary said.