Thirteen suspected gunmen were killed in a shootout with security forces in Mexico’s violence-plagued Sinaloa state on Monday, authorities said, marking one of the deadliest confrontations this year in the cartel stronghold.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch confirmed that the clash occurred shortly after midday when an armed group ambushed law enforcement officers in a rural area of the Pacific coast state. In response, security forces returned fire, killing 13 attackers.
Four suspects were arrested at the scene, and nine people who had been kidnapped by the group were rescued during the operation, García Harfuch said.
Sinaloa has been the epicenter of brutal turf wars between rival factions of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, long associated with imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The violence has intensified over the past year as government forces increase pressure on criminal organizations seeking to control drug routes and local economies.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
