By IANS
Mexico City : At least two soldiers and four gunmen have been killed in the mountains of Sinaloa state in western Mexico during a gunfight between the security forces and members of a drug cartel, EFE news agency reported Saturday.
The incident took place Thursday. The gunmen ambushed the soldiers who were searching for illegal marijuana and opium cultivation near the town of Santiago de los Caballeros at the time of the incident, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office said.
Sinaloa is an important hub for the drug trade, controlled by the fugitive Joaquin Guzman alias El Chapo, wanted by both Mexican and US authorities.
In the neighbouring Sonora sate, authorities killed two gunmen involved in the drug trade Wednesday.
On Thursday Governor Eduardo Bours said in a radio interview that Guzman’s group has started recruiting gunmen in Sonora to fight rival gang members.
Meanwhile, the Mexican government announced dispatch of nearly 2,500 soldiers and federal police to Ciudad Juarez and other municipalities to fight these groups.
The government will continue its fight against these criminals, President Felipe Calderon said Thursday.
According to daily El Universal, around 750 people were killed in drug-related violence since Jan 1 across the country.