Up to late last night, police declined to release the names of the two policemen who were injured and later died, during a shoot-out with gunmen on Mountain View Avenue on Sunday night.

The two policemen were among eight who had gone to the area to investigate two robberies. The other six were also shot and injured. The cops are from the Motorised Patrol and East Kingston Divisions.

Police reported that about 11:26 p.m., a female turned up at the Rockfort Police Station and reported that she had been shot while driving along Mountain View Avenue. She also told officers that another motorist had been attacked by armed men.

Police from the East Kingston Division went to assist and came under sustained gunfire, during which two of them were hit. Other officers who went to rescue their colleagues were also fired at, resulting in six of them being shot.

The situation was eventually brought under control and the injured policemen taken to hospital where the two died. Two of them were discharged, while four remain hospitalised in stable condition.

Meanwhile the Police Federation, the group representing rank and file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, has asked its members to take all precautions in the face of blatant threats against their lives and their environs.

"Our members are ready to do all that is necessary to protect thisland we all call home. Criminality must be stopped," Sergeant Raymond Wilson, chairman of the Police Federation said in the release. "The Police Federation stands ready to do all that is needed to support our members on the front line. We must conquer the evil of criminality if Jamaica is to survive."