MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. The two men attacking a traffic police station east of Moscow on Wednesday afternoon wounded one of the officers with an axe, seized his pistol and opened fire on police officers inside the station, Russian Interior Ministry’s spokesperson told Tass.

"Armed with axes, two men made a bold attack on a traffic police station. They gravely wounded police Captain Mikhail Balakin, who was on duty near the station, and opened fire on the station using his service pistol," Irina Volk said.

"As a result, police Lieutenant Nikolai Drozd was gravely wounded, while Lieutenant Valery Pankov managed to neutralize the attackers by return fire and summoned reinforcement," she said, adding that he had killed one of the attackers on the scene and wounded another one, who managed to escape.

The second attacker was soon found by arriving policemen. "He offered storng armed resistance and was neutralized by return fire," Volk said.

She said Mikhail Balakin and Nikolai Drozd had been gravely wounded. Medics are fighting for their lives.

The attack on a traffic police station in the township of Balashikha 20 kilometers to the east of Moscow occurred at about 2:30 pm, Moscow time, on Wednesday.

Investigators have identified the two attackers as natives of Central Asian republics, but don’t give their names for legal reasons.

Two rucksacks with documents along with other belongings of the attackers were found in the woodland nearby. Investigators look into the motives as well as the itinerary of the attackers.