BAKU, April 30 (RIA Novosti) - A gunman has killed more than 10 people at the Azerbaijan Oil Academy in Baku, police said on Thursday.

According to earlier reports over 15 people were wounded in the attack.

Azerbaijan's ANS television channel reported that two gunmen had opened fire on staff and students as they made their way up the stairs of the academy building to higher levels.

Ekhsan Zaidov, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said special troops had conducted an operation and "neutralized" the gunman while people, believed to have been held hostage, had been freed. Zaidov gave no further details on the incident but said an official statement would be made within an hour.

Earlier reports said one of the attackers had committed suicide, while the other had taken hostages.

The Baku news agency APA reported that the shooting may have been as a result of a conflict between Azerbaijani and foreign students studying at the college. The gunmen, according to eyewitnesses are of "Afro-Arabian origin."