Three UN police officers were killed and 11 wounded in a shoot-out in northern Kosovo Saturday afternoon, the Beta news agency reported.

Two American officers were among the dead, while the third was a Jordanian police officer, UN police spokesman Neeraj Singh announced.

The incident occurred at around 3:00 p.m. in a prison in the city of Kosovska Mitrovica and the three were killed in a shoot-out among UN police officers from different countries. Media reports said that the incident followed a quarrel over Iraq, but there is no official confirmation so far.

Seven of the wounded, six American officers and one Austrian officer, were being treated in a hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica, Milan Ivanovic, the director of the hospital was quoted as saying.

Harri Holkeri, the UN administrator in Kosovo said that he was shocked by the incident.

Kosovo, a province of Serbia of Serbia and Montenegro, has beenunder UN administration since June 1999 following 11 weeks of NATObombing. Around 3,500 international police serve in the province.

Source: Xinhua