Three police officers have been shot dead in the US state of Kentucky while trying to serve a warrant on a man accused of domestic violence, Ednews reports citing BBC.

Police took the 49-year-old suspect into custody after the shooting.

Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt said the officers had faced "pure hell" when they arrived at the man's home.

Four other people were injured at the scene in Allen, a small town in a mountainous part of eastern Kentucky with a population of just 166.

The officers who died in the shooting late on Thursday have been named as Capt Ralph Frasure, Deputy William Petry and dog handler Jacob Chaffins.

K9 Drago, one of the dogs that Mr Chaffins handled, also died.