Mexico City: Troops uncovered at least 72
bodies, including those of 14 women, on a ranch in
north-eastern Mexico after a clash with gunmen, the Mexican
military said early on Wednesday.
The gruesome find came after a shootout between troops
and suspected drug traffickers near the town of San Fernando,
in Tamaulipas state which borders the southern US state of
Texas, in which one member of the military and three
gunmen were killed, according to the Mexican Navy.
It said "the lifeless bodies of 72 people were found"
after the navy went to the ranch when a man suffering from
gunshot wounds approached a nearby military checkpoint and
said he had been attacked on the ranch by suspected
drug traffickers.
The operation, which included military air support,
netted one "underage suspect," but the rest of the gunmen who
were not killed managed to escape.
The military seized 21 rifles, about 6,600 rounds of
ammunition, and four trucks including one bearing Ministry of
Defense markings, the navy said.
Mass graves have been turning up with increasing
frequency in Mexico`s drug war, which has claimed the lives of
an estimated 28,000 people since 2006 despite a military show
of force in Mexican cities by the government of President
Felipe Calderon.
PTI
