Police shot dead two men suspected to be Gang 21 members in a shootout near a construction site in Ara Damansara in Selangor on Tuesday night, Selangor police chief Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said on Wednesday.

He said the incident occurred at 10.50 pm when the men, who were in a Proton Wira Aeroback car, shot at pursuing policemen after they found themselves cornered at a dead-end road.

The policemen, from the Serious Crimes Division of the Selangor police, returned fire and shot them dead, he told a news conference at the Kajang district police headquarters, here.

He said a police team, comprising an officer and three personnel, on crime-prevention patrol drove up to the suspects' car in Jalan PJU1A/9, Ara Damansara, but the vehicle sped off and the policemen gave chase.

"However, the men turned back after realising that they had driven into a dead-end road and then started firing at the policemen. The policemen took cover and returned fire," he said.

The two men, aged 22 and 26, died on the spot, he said.

He said an investigation revealed that the two men had committed six criminal offences and one of them had been held in Simpang Renggam, Johor, in 2008 under the Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance 1969.

He also said that the police found a Llama 7.65mm/.32 pistol, two machetes, a face mask and a pair of gloves in the suspects' car.