Five police officers killed in ambush in Peru
Five policemen were killed in an ambush in the Ayacucho department in southeastern Peru, an incident which also injured another official and a civilian, regional official Omar Quesada told the press on Monday.

The police were transporting two people who were arrested for drug trafficking when the attack occurred, and the attackers were believed to be remnants of the Shining Path guerrilla group, Omar Quesada said.

One of the injured was a prosecutor accompanying the police, who was in critical condition, he added.

Soon after the incident, Peru's Interior Ministry sent hundreds of policemen to the region to track down the criminals.

Ayacucho was the main center of operations of the Shining Path,which has launched campaigns to overthrow the government in 1980. The fighting killed nearly 70,000 people, although the violence dropped off significantly in 1992 following the capture of the group's founder, Abimael Guzman, and other key leaders.