Monterrey (Mexico): Federal forces have
killed 22 suspected members of the brutal Zetas drug gang in a
three-day operation in northern Mexico, near the US border, an
official said on Tuesday.
Soldiers and police backed by helicopters targeted some
200 members of the Zetas around the town of San Carlos, 90
miles (150 kilometres) from the US border, using information
from a local gang leader arrested Friday.
"There were 22 killed between Friday and Sunday in the
same community," said Jorge Domene, security spokesman for the
state of Nuevo Leon.
The Mexican army has targeted the Zetas in several
operations in the past week in the northern border states of
Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, where the gang is
believed to hold training camps.
The Zetas, who started out as hitmen working for the Gulf
cartel in the 1990s, have been accused of killings,
kidnappings and macabre displays of brutality that have made
them one of the most feared gangs in Mexico.
PTI
