An attack on Chad's presidential palace left 18 assailants dead and six in custody, with one soldier killed and three wounded, state media reported Thursday. The attack on Wednesday night occurred while Chadian President Mahamat Deby Itno was inside the palace,

Multiple gunshots were heard near the presidential palace in Chad's capital Wednesday evening, residents said, while the African country's foreign minister said soldiers were defending the president and the situation was under control.

Armed men tried to storm Chad's presidential palace when President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was inside but 18 attackers and two soldiers were killed in the failed attack, the national prosecutor said Thursday.

Two dozen armed men tried to storm into Chad's presidential palace but 18 of the attackers and two soldiers were killed in the failed attack, the national prosecutor said Thursday.

Wednesday, authorities said. President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was inside the palace at the time of the attack.

Gunfire erupted Wednesday evening inside the presidency in Chad's capital N'Djamena, with tanks and a heavy security presence on the streets, according to AFP reporters on the scene and security