Abuja, June 1 (IANS) Eleven students who were abducted following an attack on a school in Nigeria's Niger state, have been released, a government official said.

Mary Noel-Berje, a spokeswoman for the state government, said on Monday that authorities are yet to confirm the exact number of students who had been abducted on Sunday after unidentified gunmen attacked the Salihu Tanko Islamiya School in Tegina, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The released children were regarded as too small and could not walk a long distance, and this prompted the kidnappers to release them," Noel-Berje said.

The state government is "still searching and conducting a house-to-house headcount to ascertain the exact number of children abducted at Tegina", she added.

Adamu Usman, the state's police chief, told Xinhua that several gunmen on motorcycles stormed the town on Sunday afternoon, shooting indiscriminately and killing one resident in the process.

He declined to give the exact number of students kidnapped during the attack.

Local media however, reported over 200 students of the school were kidnapped by the gunmen.

The school is an unconventional one where parents send their children on a daily basis to receive Islamic education, according to local broadcaster Channels Television.

Niger police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun told Xinhua that security agencies are yet to ascertain how many children were abducted from the school.

An investigation has been launched to that effect.

--IANS ksk/