Shootout in Mexican city leaves 7 dead

Chilpancingo (Mexico), Sep 25 (IANS/EFE) Seven suspected cartel gunmen were killed in a shootout between rival gangs in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexican officials said.

Spokespersons for the Attorney General’s Office in Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, said the clash occurred Thursday on the outskirts of that tourist hub.

According to the report, several assailants riding in an SUV engaged in a 30-minute clash with another group of gunmen inside a house. Four people died inside the house and three others perished in the street, the spokespersons said.

Soldiers deployed to the site of the clash took control of the situation and arrested five municipal police who apparently were accompanying the aggressors in the SUV.

Authorities have not determined the cause of the clash but they say it may have been sparked by a battle for a lucrative drug-smuggling corridor.

–IANS/EFE