Police Killing in Peru Linked to Guerrillas

Gunmen believed to be Shining Path guerrillas shot and killed two policemen on a coffee break in a suburb near here and escaped with the officers’ submachine guns, authorities reported Friday.

Four gunmen armed with pistols left a note on the bodies declaring, “Armed struggle is victorious and nobody will stop it,” the Republican Guard said, blaming the attack on the Maoist guerrilla organization that has been battling the government for four years.

Police have accused the guerrillas of killing more than 20 people on raids just before and after New Year’s on the Andes Mountains of south-central Peru where the rebels are strongest.