Gunmen Kill Two Police Officers In Southwestern Russia

Gunmen kill two police officers in southwestern Russia < br />

2012-08-15 21:25:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

KHASAVYURT, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Two police officers were killed on late Tuesday when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a police vehicle in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, local authorities said on Wednesday. One of the gunmen was shot dead by one of the officers.

The attack happened at around 7:45 p.m. local time when three unidentified gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at a traffic police car in Khasavyurt, a city in the Republic of Dagestan. "Police opened fire in response," a spokesperson for the Dagestan Interior Ministry said.

Authorities said the two police officers shot dead one of the attackers before they were both shot themselves. "As a result of the shooting, one of the criminals was killed," the spokesperson said. The Interior Ministry added that one of the officers died at the scene while the second officer later died at a local hospital without regaining consciousness.

The other two attackers were able to flee the scene, and their identities were not immediately known.

Militants in the region regularly carry out attacks against security forces, police, and civilians, more than a decade after a separatist war ended in Chechnya. The volatile region of Dagestan neighbors Chechnya where about 50 percent of all militant attacks in Russia take place.

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