Sixteen killed after gunmen attack buses in eastern Mexico

Sixteen killed after gunmen attack buses in eastern Mexico

2011-12-24 00:26:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

VERACRUZ, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- Sixteen people were killed on early Thursday morning when unidentified gunmen attacked three passenger buses in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, resulting in fierce clashes with security personnel, officials confirmed on Friday.

The attacks happened on early Thursday morning, at around dawn, in the municipalities of Panuco and El Higo, which are both located in the northern tip of the state, near the state border with Tamaulipas.

According to local authorities, several gunmen opened fire against three passenger buses on the Tempoal-Panuco highway, leaving seven passengers killed. Moments later, the same group of armed men killed another four people in the municipality of El Higo.

Mexican security forces, including soldiers, Marines and personnel from the Public Security Department, immediately launched a counter-operation in search of the assailants. They were later located in Panuco, where five of them were killed during an armed confrontation with the security forces.

Officials seized a bullet-proof vehicle, five assault rifles, 54 cartridges and eight cellular phones at the scene of the confrontation. An investigation into the incident was continuing on Friday, and it was not immediately clear which group was behind the attack.

According to government figures, a total of 15,273 drug-related crimes were reported to authorities in Mexico in 2010. More than 30,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderón began his campaign to fight organized crime in December 2006, although some estimates put that number at more than 45,000.

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