Car bomb explodes outside Mexico police station, leaves seven people injured
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Car bomb explodes outside Mexico police station, leaves seven people injured")
Image for representation purpose only Photograph: (AFP)
A car bomb exploded outside a police station in Ojocaliente, Zacatecas, injuring seven people and damaging vehicles. The attack forced school suspensions and event cancellations amid escalating drug cartel violence.
A car bomb exploded outside a police station in Mexico’s Zacatecas state overnight on Sunday (Aug 30), injuring seven people and damaging several vehicles and nearby properties, authorities said. The blast took place in Ojocaliente, an area where Mexico’s two largest drug cartels are fighting for control of key drug-trafficking routes.
State government secretary Rodrigo Reyes said the explosive had been placed inside a private vehicle and detonated outside the police station. The blast damaged the station and properties in the surrounding area, he said in a post on Facebook.
Six civilians were wounded and were receiving medical treatment, Reyes said in an earlier post. A police officer was also injured in the explosion. Thirteen vehicles were damaged, including two police patrol cars, according to Reyes. The explosion was the third reported attack involving explosives in Zacatecas in less than a week, according to an AFP tally.
Local authorities announced that school classes would be suspended on Monday, while celebrations linked to the town’s patron saint festival were cancelled following the blast. Zacatecas is strategically important to Mexico’s drug trade as it connects the country’s central regions with the north and west. The state also contains routes used to smuggle cocaine and other narcotics towards the United States.
The state has experienced years of violent clashes linked to organised crime, with killings, disappearances and the discovery of bodies reported frequently before violence eased somewhat.
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In July, five bodies were found hanging from a bridge in Pozos de Gamboa, around 75 kilometres (47 miles) from Ojocaliente. The victims included a former mayor, civil servants and business people from other parts of Zacatecas. The killings drew the attention of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who vowed to identify and arrest those responsible.
Sheinbaum has deployed soldiers to violence-hit states including Sinaloa and Michoacan amid growing pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has threatened direct intervention against Mexican cartels over the trafficking of drugs into the United States.
