MEXICO CITY: A shootout near the capital of Mexico’s Sinaloa state killed 19 suspected gang members, while one local cartel leader was arrested, Mexico’s defense ministry said on Tuesday, as intra-cartel violence intensifies.
The deadly altercation on Monday took place about 11km outside the Sinaloa capital of Culiacan, when a group of more than 30 gunmen fired on soldiers, according to a statement from the ministry. It added that some of the suspected cartel gunmen fled the scene after federal agents returned fire.
The detainee was identified as Edwin Antonio “N” — his last name withheld as is typical for those accused of crimes in Mexico — and described as a local leader of the Sinaloa Cartel faction led by its legendary co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
A document dated Oct. 22 from Mexico’s national registry of detained persons obtained by Reuters listed an Edwin Antonio Rubio Lopez apprehended by military personnel in Sinaloa.
Seven vehicles and nearly 30 firearms, including machine guns, ammunition and military-style vests and helmets were also seized.
Violence has flared in the western Pacific coast state ever since the late July arrest of Zambada, after he was flown to an airstrip in the United States near the city of El Paso, Texas, and promptly taken into custody by US officials.
The veteran cartel leader is believed to be in his 70s. He has alleged that a senior member of the Los Chapitos, another faction of the Sinaloa cartel, kidnapped him and then flew him to the United States against his will.
The gangland violence plaguing Sinaloa is seen by security analysts as likely pitting the two factions against each other, and has intensified since early September with around 200 dead and more than 300 others believed to be missing, according to official data.
Shootout in Mexico’s Sinaloa state kills 19, local cartel leader arrested
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Shootout in Mexico’s Sinaloa state kills 19, local cartel leader arrested
- The deadly altercation on Monday took place about 11km outside the Sinaloa capital of Culiacan
- Some of the suspected cartel gunmen fled the scene after federal agents returned fire
Heavy shelling, explosions spark fear along Pakistan-Afghanistan border
- Residents fear for their safety amid border clashes
- 1,500 Afghan families displaced due to heavy shelling and explosions
- Pakistan denies targeting civilians, says its strikes focus on militants
LAL PUR, Afghanistan/PESHAWAR, Pakistan: People living along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan said they were considering fleeing their homes because of heavy shelling and explosions as fighting between troops from both sides entered a seventh day on Wednesday.
The South Asian allies-turned-foes have engaged in their worst fighting in years following Pakistani airstrikes on major Afghan cities last week, increasing volatility in a region also on edge over US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Islamabad has said its airstrikes, which have at times directly targeted the Taliban government, are aimed at ending Afghan support for militants carrying out attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban has denied aiding militant groups.
SHELLING STARTS AS VILLAGERS ARE BREAKING RAMADAN FAST
Residents of towns and villages in Pakistan’s northwest said fighting between border forces starts in the evenings, placing their homes in the line of fire, often at sunset when families are breaking their fast in the holy month of Ramadan.
“There is complete silence in the day, but the moment we sit for iftar dinner, the two sides start shelling,” Farid Khan Shinwari from Landi Kotal, a town near the Torkham border crossing, told Reuters.
“We open our fast in extremely difficult situations, as you never know when a shell can hit your house.”
Residents in the town and nearby villages said there had been heavy shelling and some explosions heard in the past few days, prompting many to flee their homes.
On the other side of the border, Afghans shared similar stories of skirmishes and families fleeing their homes.
Hundreds had been displaced to an open dirt field under makeshift tents, while others had no shelter at all. Officials say around 1,500 families have fled their homes.
Fighting along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border has ebbed and flowed over the week-long conflict, with both sides saying they have inflicted heavy losses on the other country and gained ground in the fighting.
Reuters has been unable to verify these accounts.
TURKEY HAS OFFERED TO MEDIATE
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
On Wednesday, both countries reported exchanges of heavy fire, with Afghanistan’s defense ministry saying Taliban forces shot down a Pakistani drone and captured seven border posts.
A spokesperson for the ministry said 110 civilians, including 65 women and children, had been killed since the fighting began and another 123 were wounded. The United Nations mission for Afghanistan has listed 42 deaths so far.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar disputed both figures, saying: “Pakistan exercises great care in only targeting terrorists and support infrastructure. No civilian structures have been targeted.”
On Saturday, Pakistan struck “ammunition and critical equipment” at the Bagram air base north of Kabul, Tarar said, a key American command center through the 20-year Afghan war.
