A gang ambushed a federal police convoy in western Mexico, sparking a shootout that killed five officers, three suspects and two bystanders, authorities say.
The attack took place late on Thursday as the seven vehicles carrying paramilitary gendarmerie officers were on patrol in Ocotlan, Jalisco state, the federal police said in a statement on Friday.
Eight other officers were wounded, including one in serious condition.
It was the deadliest shooting for Mexico's new gendarmerie, a 5000-strong unit modelled after European military-like forces that President Enrique Pena Nieto launched last year to protect key economic sectors from organised crime.
The police statement said the officers were on patrol at around 9.15 pm when a vehicle approached the convoy and "without uttering a word, one of the individuals pulled out a large weapon and shot at the federal agents."
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The officers shot back and more gunmen arrived in about 10 other vehicles, firing in all directions.
The gendarmerie commander said the shootout lasted 30 minutes and took place in several streets.
"As a result of this clash, we report the deaths of five gendarmerie division officers and three civilians whose bodies had cartridge belts and tactical equipment and who presumably are part of organised crime," the statement said.
"We regret the death of two civilians," it added. The bodies were in the same firing line as the officers.
The statement did not say what criminal organisation the suspects belong to, but the region is home to the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel.
More than 100,000 people have died or gone missing since Mexico's drug war began to escalate in 2006 with the deployment of troops to combat drug cartels.
