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Salvador murder suspects killed | Salvador murder suspects killed |
(10 minutes later) | |
Four Guatemalan policemen arrested in connection with the murders of three politicians from El Salvador have been killed in jail, police say. | Four Guatemalan policemen arrested in connection with the murders of three politicians from El Salvador have been killed in jail, police say. |
They were shot inside the maximum security prison where they had been held since their arrest on Thursday. | They were shot inside the maximum security prison where they had been held since their arrest on Thursday. |
One of the policemen killed was the head of an organised crime squad. | One of the policemen killed was the head of an organised crime squad. |
The bodies of the three Salvadorean lawmakers and their driver were found in their burnt and bullet-ridden car near Guatemala City last Monday. | The bodies of the three Salvadorean lawmakers and their driver were found in their burnt and bullet-ridden car near Guatemala City last Monday. |
The four high-ranking policemen were being held in Boqueron prison, east of Guatemala City. | |
"It is confirmed that the four bodies are them," police spokeswoman Maria Jose Fernandez said. | |
Reports suggested attackers gained access to the prison at visiting time. | |
Shot and killed | |
Prison sources told Spanish news agency Efe that armed gunmen entered the jail, threatened guards and hunted for the policemen. | |
The policemen were then killed in their cell, after which the attackers fled, Efe said. | |
The politicians from El Salvador were killed on Monday | The politicians from El Salvador were killed on Monday |
There were also reports of a riot at the prison, but it was not clear whether this happened before or after the men were shot. One report said prisoners were holding guards hostage. | |
The prison houses many members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, which is involved in drug trafficking. | |
The three politicians killed last week were members of El Salvador's governing Arena party and were deputies to the Central American Parliament. | The three politicians killed last week were members of El Salvador's governing Arena party and were deputies to the Central American Parliament. |
One was the son of Arena's late founder, Roberto D'Aubuisson, who was accused of being behind the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero in 1980. | One was the son of Arena's late founder, Roberto D'Aubuisson, who was accused of being behind the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero in 1980. |
Drug links, political motives or a case of mistaken identity have all been put forward as an explanation for the politicians' murder. | |
El Salvador's Attorney General Felix Garrid Safie has said the killings were almost certainly linked to organised crime. |