Six people died and one was injured on Friday after the Mexican army and gangsters clashed in the city of Matamoros, in northeastern Mexico state Tamaulipas, Mexican broadcasters reported.
The army also arrested two people believed to belong to the Zetas, the armed wing of drug traffickers the Gulf Cartel. The clash began close to a customs office called Las Yescas, on the road that links Matamoros to Brownsville, a city in U.S. state Texas, after marines spotted armed men aboard a group of vehicles during a routine patrol. The gunmen responded by opening fire on the officers and tried to flee towards the Ciudad Victoria road. In the subsequent shootout six gunmen died and one was injured, Xinhua reported.
After the incident, the soldiers arrested two gunmen and seized three trucks, two M4 rifles, an AK-47 assault rifle, and unused rounds.