Shootout leaves 9 dead in Mexico

Mexico City: Nine people have been killed in southern Mexico in a shootout between two groups using high-powered weapons, authorities said Thursday. Several organized crime groups dedicated to trafficking drugs operate in the area and often clash over control of supply routes.

The confrontation occurred Wednesday on a highway in a rural area in the state of Guerrero, the local attorney's office said in a statement.

"The deceased are close to Zenen Nava Sanchez, leader of the criminal group Los Rojos," it said, adding an investigation had been launched into the incident.

A long-running dispute for territory between Los Rojos and a rival gang has left more than a thousand people dead and centered

on a town some ten kilometers from where the firefight took place, according to local

media.

Experts at the site retrieved 50 bullets used in high-caliber weapons like the AK-47 assault rifle. Last month, 15 people including a soldier

were killed in the same state after gunmen attacked security forces.