Reports from Macedonia say special police forces are searching the village of Aracinovo near the capital Skopje, where three policemen were killed earlier this week.

The village is reported to be surrounded by police in armoured vehicles and a number of arrested people have been taken to Skopje for interrogation.

Eyewitnesses told a BBC reporter they heard gunshots and explosions.

Correspondents say the latest police operation is based on reliable information that the attackers are still in the mainly ethnic Albanian village, believed to be a centre of arms and drug smuggling network. The three policemen were shot last Wednesday during a routine search for stolen vehicles.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service