Five killed in northern Mexico army-smugglers clash

Five people died were killed Friday in a clash between soldiers and gangsters in northern Mexican state Nuevo Leon, local authorities said.

The incident occurred in Juarez, a small town in Nuevo Leon, at 7:45 a.m. local time (1245 GMT), the State Attorney's Office (PGJE) told local media.

The army arrested three municipal police officers at the scene, who allegedly had links to organized crime.

The soldiers had been responding to an anonymous phone call saying criminals were stopping drivers on road linking Nuevo Leon city Reynosa to state capital Monterrey.

The soldiers said they were fired on when they went to the area. Federal police and Federal Investigation Agency officials also went to the scene.

The latest violence came just one day after 27 people were killed in a shootout between Mexican army and a group of suspected gangsters in Nuevo Leon.

Source:Xinhua