Mexican police say they have killed 19 gunmen in a shootout in the northern state of Sinaloa.<\/p>\n
Five police officers were injured in the confrontation.<\/p>\n
It started on Friday night in the town of Villa Union and ended after a multiple car chase in Aguaje, a few kilometres away – both in Mazatl\u00e1n.<\/p>\n
The region has seen fierce in-fighting in the powerful Sinaloa drugs cartel since the arrest of its leader, Joaqu\u00edn “El Chapo” Guzm\u00e1n, last year.<\/p>\n
This was one of the worst clashes in the south of Sinaloa in recent months, local media reported.<\/p>\n
The gunmen had just killed two men from a rival gang when they were surprised by a large contingent of police who happened to be in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
They alerted army troops in the area, who chased the alleged gang members and caught up with them in Aguaje de Costilla.<\/p>\n
The security forces seized some 20 weapons and three pick-up trucks from the gang.<\/p>\n
Violence in the region has gone up by 76% in the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2016, according to the Home Office.<\/p>\n
Guzm\u00e1n\u00a0was arrested in January 2016<\/a>, six months after escaping through a tunnel from the high-security Altiplano penitentiary near the capital, Mexico City.<\/p>\n He was\u00a0extradited to the United States<\/a>\u00a0a year later to face drug trafficking and money laundering charges.<\/p>\n Guzm\u00e1n – whose nickname means “Shorty” – is believed to have amassed a billion-dollar fortune through the drugs trade after setting up the Sinaloa Cartel in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n In May, award-winning journalist\u00a0Javier Valdez<\/a>\u00a0became a high-profile victim of the violence in Sinaloa.<\/p>\n Mr Valdez was acclaimed for reporting on the drugs trade in Sinaloa and the involvement of politicians and police.<\/p>\n He was killed in the state capital, Culiac\u00e1n, where he lived and worked. His death prompted protests in many Mexican cities.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"