GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -- Six people died and eight were injured
                 when an attempt to rob a Guatemala City bus ended in a shootout
                 between assailants and police, authorities said on Monday.

                 Robbers on board an urban bus in downtown Guatemala City opened fire with
                 AK-47 rifles after officers in a patrol car surprised them in the act late on
                 Sunday, police spokesman Enio Rivera told Guatemalan television.

                 Four assailants, the bus driver and a child died in the ensuing shootout, he said.

                 Armed attacks on packed urban buses, often in daylight, have become
                 commonplace in Guatemala City where resource-starved police are struggling to
                 halt a rise in violent crime.

                   Copyright 2001 Reuters.