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By Chris Covert
Rantbirg.com
A total of nine unidentified individuals have been killed in drug and gang related violence in southern Jalisco state since early Sunday morning according to Mexican press accounts.
A wire dispatch originating from El Universal news service posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily reported that a firefight between municipal police agents and armed suspects travelling aboard 10 vehicles took place early Sunday morning in Ayotlan municipality, killing three municipal police agents and one civilian.
According to the report crime scene investigators found more than 500 spent shell casings at the scene.
At about the same time one unidentified man and woman were found shot to death in two separate incidents in Jilotlan de los Dolores municipality in southern Jalisco. The woman was found aboard a vehicle in Jilotlan de los Dolores city while the man was found aboard a vehicle on a road between Jilotlan de los Dolores city and a road leading south to Tepalcatepec in Michoacan.
Also early Sunday police agents in Quitupan municipality, also in southern Jalisco state located the bodies of three unidentified men shot to death at Rancho Quiringual.
Previously, two municipal police agents were wounded in an exchange of gunfire with armed suspects on a road between San Onofrie and San Diego Sunday morning. Reports were that the armed suspects involved in the shootout had fled south into Michoacan.
A separate report that appeared in a Sunday news item posted on the website of Proceso news weekly said that a shootout took place at around 0300 hrs Sunday morning between municipal police agents and about 40 armed suspects, who were travelling aboard several vehicles in Degollado municipality in southeastern Jalisco state.
Apparently no one was hurt in that incident.
Southern Jalisco and northern Michocan have been in the grips of an intense and deadly battle between Caballeros Templarios and Los Zetas drug cartels. Only a few weeks ago Caballero Templarios had been taking advantage of internal conflicts among the senior leadership of Los Zetas to run Los Zetas out of the border area.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com