Moscow, June 16 (IANS) Two police officers and one civilian were injured in an exchange of gunfire in the southwest of Moscow on Monday, police said.

"Today, in the area of house 156 on Leninsky Avenue, traffic police officers stopped a taxi for violating the rules of the road. A passing citizen fired at the police officers allegedly from a traumatic weapon, as a result of which the two policemen were injured," it said in a statement, Xinhua reported.

The wounded policemen used service firearms to shoot at the attacker, injuring him and having him detained, the statement said.

Currently, a group of investigators and policemen are working at the scene of the incident, establishing its circumstances, the statement added.

The Russian Investigative Committee said in a separate statement it had opened a criminal case on the grounds of an encroachment on the life of law enforcement officers.

--IANS pgh/