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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A total of 11 individuals were killed or were found dead in ongoing drug and gang related violence in Durango and Coahuila states including three Policia Federal (PF) agents, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news account on the website of Animal Politico, the three PF agents had been ambushed in Gomez Palacio by armed suspects travelling aboard several vehicles. The ambush took place near the intersection of calles Victoria and Zaragoza in Zona Centro at around 1100 hrs Thursday.
The three PF agents who died in the encounter were identified as Pedro Cano Rodriguez, 34, Refugio Hernandez Ramirez, 41 and Antonio Lopez Mendez, 33.
Meanwhile, eight individuals died in drug or gang violence elsewhere in Durango state, according to a news report posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily.
- A decapitated body was found in Tlahualilo municipality Tuesday morning near Ejido Banco Nacional. The victim was an unidentified male in his 20s with tattoos, whose hands were bound. His head was found nearby.
- Two women were found shot to death inside a minivan in Gomez Palacio municipality late Tuesday night. The victims were identified as Ema MartÃnez Sainz, 55 and Dora Alicia Regalado Ramirez, 40. They were found aboard a Toyota Quest minivan near the intersection of Avenida Madero and Calle Zaragoza.
- An unidentified man in his 20s was found shot to death along the Durango city to Gomez Palacio highway at Kilometer 41.
- Another unidentified man in his 20s was found shot to death in Gomez Palacio municipality Wednesday night. The victim was found in San Alberto colony in Ejido Filadelfia. He had been shot once in the head.
- According to a news item posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, three armed suspects were killed by Mexican security forces in Piedra Negras municipality in Coahuila state Wednesday evening. According to the report, the gunfight took place near the intersection of calles Lopez Mateos and Alejo Gonzalez in Buenavista colony. A unit of the Coahuila state Grupo de Armas y Tacticas Especiales (GATE) located the armed suspects who were travelling aboard a van, and who had fired their weapons at state security forces. Piedra Negras is under heightened alert due to a mass prison break last Monday,which had sprung 132 criminals.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com