43 killed in 3-hour Mexico shootout
NEWS DESK (DİHA) - A three-hour shootout between Mexican security forces and unidentified gunmen Friday left 42 of the gunmen dead, as well as one federal police officer, officials said. Three gunmen were arrested.
The lengthy firefight erupted in the town of Tanhuato, Michoacan state, when a joint force of federal and state security forces encountered the gunmen in the course of an investigation, Mexican National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said at a news conference. The gunmen belonged to a criminal organization operating in the neighboring state of Jalisco, Rubido said, though he didn't name the group.
The death toll was 42 gunmen and one federal police officer, who was shot while providing aid to an injured colleague. The three gunmen who were arrested have been turned over to state prosecutors.
In addition, the security forces seized eight vehicles, six were inside the warehouse and were burned when the structure caught on fire. A photo of the burned-out vehicles had been shared earlier on Twitter by a group of citizens who monitor violence in Michoacan.
(nt)
