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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Two police officers and six alleged gang members were killed Tuesday in a clash outside El Salvador's capital, authorities said.
The attorney general's office said through its official Twitter account that the battle involving members of the Barrio 18 gang occurred in a rural area in the department of Cuscatlan northeast of San Salvador.
The agency initially said two police officers were killed and two seriously wounded, then updated that to say three officers had died. The national police also confirmed that figure, but later said only two were dead after the director of the force visited the scene. The attorney general's office also reverted to two dead officers.
According to the attorney general's office and police, the officers were accompanying a witness when they were ambushed. Combined police and military forces scoured the area looking for those responsible.
A total of 15 police officers have been slain in El Salvador this year.
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