A gang of armed robbers shot dead two Indian guards near the Sulaibiya vegetable market in Kuwait and escaped with KD13,000 ($46,153) in cash on Friday night.

The duo was attacked by the assailants as they walked towards their security van with the cash chest. The gunmen, reportedly in black attire, fired at them at close range and escaped with the booty, leaving the victims in a pool of blood, reported the Kuwait Times.

The guards – both hailing from the south Indian state of Kerala - were tasked with depositing the day’s collection of a supermarket at the bank via ATM. Both were working as security personnel with a leading private security company in Kuwait.

Sharangdharan, 55, who hailed from the Kozhikode district, diedon the spot  after being shot in the chest by the three-member gang, while Muhammad Rashid Jamalullali Thangal, 25, from the Malappuram district, who was shot in the head succumbed to his injuries at Farwaniya Hospital.

The suspects did not attempt to break into the armoured van that reportedly contained as much as KD200,000 in cash, according to reports from the scene. The driver was in the van during the incident, but was unharmed.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects fired 36 rounds from an AK-47 during the attack. A heavy security presence was reported at the scene following the crime.

Later yesterday, police claimed they had identified the perpetrators and expected to arrest them “within hours”.