Gun Battles in Mexican Border City Leave at Least 12 Dead

At least 12 people were killed in three gun battles involving Mexican army soldiers and suspected drug cartel hit men in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, officials said. “Nine criminals, two civilians and a soldier were killed in the three clashes between elements of the National Defense Secretariat and members of organized crime, and 21 people were wounded,” the Government Secretariat said in a statement. The secretariat added that seven of the wounded – including three minors – are in serious condition and are being treated at a Social Security clinic in Nuevo Laredo, while the other 14 are in “delicate but stable” condition and receiving treatment in that city’s general hospital. For its part, Sedena said in a statement that it repelled four attacks Friday by armed gangs in different parts of Nuevo Laredo. It confirmed the deaths of the suspected cartel members, the soldier and the civilians, as well as the seizure of several weapons and vehicles...more