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Dozens killed in Mexico violence | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Federal police guard the hospital where wounded colleagues were taken | Federal police guard the hospital where wounded colleagues were taken |
At least 27 people have been killed in Mexico in another day of apparent drug-related violence. | |
Ten federal police officers were killed in an ambush by suspected drug cartel gunmen in the western state of Michoacan. | |
And in the north-western state of Sinaloa, a clash between rival gangs in a prison left 17 inmates dead. | |
Both states are home to drugs gangs that have been fighting turf wars as well as battling the security forces. | |
The ambush in Michoacan hit a federal police convoy as it was returning to Mexico City, officials said. | |
Gunmen blocked the road with trucks and machine-gunned the police vehicles outside a school in the town of Zitacuaro. | |
Police say they killed and wounded some of the attackers, who fled, taking their casualties with them. | |
Michoacan is the headquarters of La Familia, one of Mexico's most violent drugs gangs. | |
Last year the cartel was blamed for the murder of 12 federal agents, whose tortured bodies were dumped on a highway in Michoacan. | |
Prison slaughter | |
The prison killings happened in Mazatlan in north-western Sinaloa state, which has also been a focus of drugs related violence. | |
All 17 victims were shot dead, and two police guards were also wounded. | |
The authorities have regained control of the jail, seizing an assault rifle and two pistols. | |
Local media reports said some of the victims belonged to the Zetas drug gang, which has been fighting the Sinaloa cartel for control of smuggling routes. | |
At least 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon ordered the army and federal police to combat the cartels. | |
Most of the dead have been traffickers and police. | Most of the dead have been traffickers and police. |
On Friday, nearly 40 people were killed in two separate attacks blamed on drugs gangs - one in Ciudad Juarez on the US border, the other in Ciudad Madero in north-eastern Tamaulipas state. | |