The suspects were allegedly held up in a house, planning a hit on a cash-depot in the Limpopo province, when police confronted them. The firefight lasted almost 90 minutes.

The South African Police Service said 18 suspects were killed during a shootout with officers in Makhado in the Limpopo province.

A police officer was also "very seriously" wounded, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola told the national broadcaster SABC.

The shooting in a rural part of South Africa about 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of the capital Pretoria, lasted for almost an hour and a half.

Two safe-house hit

Masemola said police were acting on intelligence when they surrounded a "safe house" used by the suspects to plan a cash heist.

"The police members approached the house with a view to arrest them, and in the process, they shot at the police," he said.

Police reportedly seized a large quantity of explosives and assault rifles.

"We do believe this syndicate has been involved in a number of cash-in-transit heists in this province, Mpumalanga and Gauteng," Masemola said.

He said police also arrested four suspects who used a safe house in the neighboring town of Thohoyandou.

lo/jcg (AP, Reuters)