HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia Correctional Services says it will begin lifting a lockdown this week at a Halifax jail after several guards were attacked.

Justice Department spokesman Andrew Preeper says a routine operational lockdown was put in place last Tuesday at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility to clean the jail and check for contraband.

Preeper says officials were starting to ease the lockdown Saturday by letting small groups of prisoners out of their cells when four inmates allegedly assaulted several guards.

He says a few staff members were injured, but none were taken to hospital.

Preeper says officials will begin letting small groups of inmates out of their cells to take showers, make phone calls and access legal counsel this week.

He says it's one of the longest lockdowns the jail has experienced since opening in 2001.

The facility houses about 300 men and 40 women.