The violence began with a shooting on Friday that killed two men near a department store in the town of Villa Union, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of the beach resort of Mazatlan. Drug warOfficials attributed it to warring drug gang members responsible for recent violence in the state, which is home to Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel. Police were alerted by emergency calls, and municipal officers encountered the suspected attackers as they were riding in several pickup trucks. Fierce gunbattleA fierce gunbattle broke out in which police killed 17 suspects, officials said. During the first five months of the year, homicides jumped by 76 per cent in Sinaloa state compared with the same period in 2016, according to government crime statistics.

Source: The Hindu July 02, 2017 06:22 UTC