ASTRAKHAN, April 6. /TASS/. Gunmen who shot and killed policemen in Russia’s southern city of Astrakhan on April 4 and attacked Russian Guard officers early on Thursday have been killed, a spokesman for the Russian Guard told TASS.

"The criminals who shot dead two traffic police officers on April 4 and attacked Russian Guard officers this night have been killed in a special operation. Thus, all of the four criminals have been neutralized," the spokesman said.

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 for a routine document check. 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.

Based on 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 killing them instantly. The 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.