Police and the British High Commission say a British woman and a Nigerian citizen have been shot dead in north-central Nigeria.

A High Commission statement says they were killed on Friday when gunmen attacked the Kajuru Castle holiday resort in Kaduna state. The statement identified the British national as Faye Mooney.

The aid group Mercy Corps says Mooney had worked as a communications specialist in Nigeria for almost two years. Its statement says that "we are utterly heartbroken."

Kaduna state police spokesman Yakubu Sabo tells reporters that the gunmen kidnapped three other people. Their nationalities were not immediately clear.

Sabo says Mooney had been in a group of 12 tourists who traveled from Lagos.

Kaduna state has witnessed a spate of kidnappings by armed men in recent months.