Gunmen posing as cops kill 4 inmates at prison in western Mexico

[News_Editor]

IGUALA, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- A group of gunmen opened fire inside a prison in western Mexico on Friday after using police uniforms to gain access to the facility, resulting in a gun battle in which four prisoners and five of the attackers were killed, authorities said. Two others were injured.

The attack happened early Friday when a group of six armed men wearing police uniforms showed up at a prison in the western city of Iguala in the violent state of Guerrero. The men were allowed the enter the facility by unsuspecting guards who believed they were delivering a new prisoner, prosecutors said.

"The Attorney-General's office established during preliminary investigations that, once inside the prison, the armed group began attacking inmates and later guards in a security tower, during which four prisoners and five assailants were killed," the office said in a brief statement. It added that the sixth attacker and a prison guard were both hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

It was not immediately clear if the gunmen specifically targeted inmates as part of rivalry between two criminal groups or whether they intended to facilitate a prison breakout. Prosecutors said a stolen pick-up truck that was found near the scene was used to transport the attackers.

Prison outbreaks and prison riots occur frequently in Mexico. At least 31 inmates were killed in January 2012 when two groups of inmates clashed at a penitentiary in the municipality of Altamira, which is located at the southern tip of the state of Tamaulipas and on the Gulf of Mexico. Local authorities said the inmates used self-made weapons during the deadly fight.

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