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Two shooters of Russian Guard officers down in Astrakhan: one killed, one injured

A source told TASS earlier that attempted murder on police officers was preliminarily identified as Ramzan Kukulayev

ASTRAKHAN, April 6. /TASS/. One of those who attacked Russian Guard officers in the southern city of Astrakhan in the small hours of Thursday has been wounded, Andrey Khegai, a spokesman for the Astrakhan region department of the Russian Investigative Committee, told TASS.

"According to latest reports, one of the three attackers was killed, another one was wounded, and the other one fled," said.

This information was confirmed by a spokesman for the North Caucasian district of the Russian National Guard.

A source told TASS earlier that the attacker who had been killed, was preliminarily identified as Ramzan Kukulayev who was suspected of being involved in an attack on a police patrol on April 4 and who was put on the international wanted list.

According to a spokesman for the Astrakhan region department of the Russian interior ministry, the Russian Guard officers came under gunfire in the small hours of Thursday when they tried to pull over a car to check documents. Three officers were wounded, and later hospitalized. One of them is in severe condition. The attackers fled the scene, however one of them was killed. Presumably, the attack was staged by the same persons who shot and killed two policemen on April 4.

The regional department of the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on charges of attempted murder on police officers, theft of weapons and illegal possession of firearms and munitions. According to the regional department of the Russian Investigative Committee, other attackers managed to flee with weapons seized from the policemen.

According to earlier reports, on April 4, unidentified armed men attacked two traffic cops who arrived at the scene of a road accident in Astrakhan. They fired several shots at the policemen who died instantly. Four men suspected of this attack have been put on the Russian and international wanted lists. The Russian interior ministry has announced a reward of one million rubles ($17,715) for any information leading to the arrest of the suspects.