Two US police officers killed

Authorities in Des Moines, the capital of the US state of Iowa, said on Wednesday that two officers were shot dead.

"The shootings appear to have been ambush-style attacks," said Des Moines Police Department spokesman Paul Parizek (pictured above), adding that police were conducting a search for possible suspects.

"It doesn't look like there was any interaction between these officers and whoever the coward is that shot them as they sat in their cars," he said.

Pictures at the scene of the shootings show some officers wearing combat gear.

One officer was found dead about 1 a.m. local time (0600 UTC) in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines. Police found the second officer's body in the city about half an hour later, NBC News reported.

Both officers were shot in their squad cars about two miles (3 kilometers) apart, Parizek said.

"There is a clear and present danger to police officers right now," he added. "There is definitely danger out there right now."

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad released a statement saying his office had been alerted to the shootings.

"An attack on public safety officers is an attack on the public safety of all Iowans," the statement read.

No further information on possible suspects was immediately available.

sms/rs (Reuters, AP, AFP)