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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A total of five armed suspects were killed by units of the Mexican Army in separate encounters in Zacatecas state since Wednesday, according to Mexican news accounts.
Saturday morning around 0900 hrs armed suspects attacked an army patrol detachment with the Mexican 11th Military Zone in Concepcion del Oro municipality.
Two suspects were killed and one was wounded. The wounded suspect along with two other male suspects and two woman were detained following the encounter.
Soldiers seized four rifles and two vehicles as well as an undisclosed quantity of contraband.
In Valparaiso municipality, another army unit came under small arms fire near the Hotel La Laguna early Wednesday morning.
The unit was apparently on road patrol around 0300 hrs when the encounter took place. Army return fire killed three armed suspects.
Three women were detained who were apparently prostitutes. Three rifles were also seized by elements of the army patrol.
A relief element with the Mexican 52nd Infantry Battalion had apparently been dispatched from its base near Fresnillo, which was attacked by an unknown number of armed suspects. Reports say the attack was intended to prevent the relief element from reinforcing the fight of the unit in Valparaiso.
The attackers apparently fled into the night, ending the battle. No casualties from either side were reported in the second encounter. It is unclear from report exactly where the relief element was attacked since Fresnillo is more than 80 kilometers from Valparaiso to the southwest.
The Mexican Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), the controlling agency for the Mexican Army has not to date released any information on its website about any of the armed encounters.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com