killed Rostov-on-don, Russia, Aug 19, SPA -- Hundreds of Russian policesearched Thursday for a group of gunmen who killed twopolice officers in a southern province near Chechnya,officials said. The incident began late Wednesday when police inKabardino-Balkaria in the Caucasus Mountains clashed with agroup of more than 50 militants on the edge of a forest,about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the provincial center,Nalchik. The unidentified gunmen fired at police, killing twoofficers and wounding four others, said Alexei Polyansky, aspokesman for the Russian Interior Ministry's branch insouthern Russia. In a separate clash in the same area, gunmen riding in avehicle refused to stop for a police check and fired at theofficers late Wednesday. Police fired back, killing two menin the car, while two others fled, Polyansky said. On Thursday, about 200 police deployed to the area tosearch for the gunmen. Kabardino-Balkaria and other regions in Russia's volatileNorth Caucasus are plagued by shootings, bombings and otherviolence _ some spilling over from Chechnya and somecommitted by local criminal clans.--SPA1407 Local Time 1107 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/193257