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At least eight people were killed in a shootout in Mexico between suspected cartel members on Wednesday (June 28), the news agency AFP reported on Thursday citing local authorities. According to the state prosecutor's office, the shootout occurred in Guachochi, a mountainous area of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. "Eight lifeless people were found, three of them burned, as well as an injured male person, who was transferred for medical attention," an official statement said. 

Guachochi is one of the largest towns in a mountainous area and is home to the Indigenous people of the Tarahumara ethnic group. The authorities also said that they found two burnt-out vans in the area. 

The cartels involved

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Citing local media, AFP reported that Wednesday's shootout involved rival cells of the notorious Sinaloa cartel and the victims included a local head of the criminal organisation. 

Further details are awaited.

The Tarahumara mountain area is located on one of the drug routes to the United States. The area has been rocked for years by violence linked to drug trafficking.

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A few weeks back, five men were killed and one was injured during a shootout between two rival cartels in southern Chihuahua, a report by Border Report said. In a statement on June 6, Chihuahua's Attorney General's office said the police recovered seven vehicles, four AR-15 and AK-47 style rifles, and a fragmentary grenade from two different crime scenes. 

The office said that the confrontation was between armed groups but did not identify them. However, local media reported that those killed belonged to the Sinaloa cartel and the attackers were from the Juarez cartel.

Armed group kidnaps 14 security ministry staff

The shootout in Guachochi comes a day after an armed group in Mexico's Chiapas kidnapped 14 state security ministry employees. As per the ministry, the kidnapped employees, all men, were taken by members of the armed group on a highway about 34.4 kilometres west of the state capital Tuxtla Gutierrez. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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