Cambodian military police officer, drug trafficker die in gunfire exchange

Cambodian military police officers exchanged gunfire with a group of drug traffickers on Wednesday afternoon, leaving an officer and a drug trafficker dead, a spokesman confirmed.

The shootout occurred when the military police officers raided a house on the northwestern outskirts of Phnom Penh in a drug crackdown and the traffickers opened fire on the armed forces, said National Military Police spokesman Eng Hy.

"One military police officer was hit below his armpit and died minutes after being admitted to hospital," he told Xinhua.

He said that the officers fired back at the group, leaving one suspect dead and 3 others arrested in a one-hour confrontation.

According to the spokesman, during the raid, the officers had seized 4 pistols, one AK-47 rifle, some drugs, and an Audi SUV with police license plate.

The Southeast Asian country had seen a sharp rise in drug arrests in 2015. According to the government report, about 7,008 drug-related suspects had been caught last year in 3,061 cases and some 1,620 kg of drugs, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, and methamphetamine, were confiscated. Enditem