The country's most wanted criminal died with guns blazing from both hands in a dawn shootout with police at a village hideout today, police said.

Ahmad Mohd Arshad, better known as Mat Komando, was killed with shots to the head and chest when officers stormed a hut in a village in the northern Kedah state, police chief Norian Mai told a news conference.

The former army commando had led a 13-strong gang in 52 armed robberies throughout the country for more than a year, the official Bernama news agency reported.

A special 10-man squad had been despatched to the Hujung Keton village after receiving a tip that an armed man was hiding there, he said.

"Police asked the man to surrender but he fired repeatedly at the policemen. Police returned fire and killed him."

Gang wiped out

He died with a semi-automatic Colt .45 pistol in his left hand and a .22 revolver in his right, Norian said.

The gang had now been wiped out, with nine of its members arrested and four killed by police, he said. — AFP