Masked gang kills 2 boys in Australia

SYDNEY, Sept 07 (AFP): A gang of masked attackers armed with machetes stabbed and killed two boys aged 12 and 15 in a "horrific" attack in the Australian city of Melbourne, police said Sunday.

Up to eight people in a suspected youth gang attacked the children separately in nearby locations in western Melbourne on Saturday evening, they said.

Police were first called to a street where they found a 12-year-old boy who had been stabbed, said Graham Banks, police detective inspector in the state of Victoria.

"Despite resuscitation attempts by paramedics, he was unable to be revived," Banks told a news conference. Soon after, police found the boy's 15-year-old friend in a nearby street with "significant" stabbing wounds. He could not be saved.