MEXICO CITY: Mexican prosecutors have launched a probe against soldiers over the shooting deaths of six people in a northern state where clashes involving drug cartels are frequent, a judicial source said Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Monday on a highway in Tamaulipas, considered one of Mexico’s most dangerous states due to the presence of gang members involved in drug and migrant trafficking.
Numerous violent clashes involving security forces in Tamaulipas have prompted accusations of extrajudicial killings.
The troops involved in the latest deadly incident have been “placed under investigation,” an official with the attorney general’s office told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A defense ministry statement said the group of soldiers was traveling on a highway when a white pickup truck “tried to ram” one of the army vehicles.
The troops sensed a threat and “used their weapons,” the ministry said, adding that five civilians died on the spot and a sixth on the way to hospital.
In March, four Mexican soldiers were sentenced to 40 years in prison for the killing of five civilians in 2023 in Nuevo Laredo, a crime-plagued city bordering the United States.
Mexico investigates soldiers for killing six on highway
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Mexico investigates soldiers for killing six on highway
- Mexican prosecutors have launched a probe against soldiers over the shooting deaths of six people in a northern state where clashes involving drug cartels are frequent, a judicial source said Tuesday
South Korea scrambles jets after Russian, Chinese planes approach
- The Russian and Chinese aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone around 10 a.m. local time
- Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice
SEOUL: South Korea said it had sent up fighter jets on Tuesday after seven Russian and two Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense zone.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) around 10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
None of the planes violated South Korean airspace, they said.
Seoul said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response.
The planes flew in and out of the zone for an hour before leaving, the military said, according to Yonhap.
The planes were spotted before they entered the air defense identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.
China’s defense ministry later said it had organized drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans.”
The drills took place Tuesday above the East China Sea and western Pacific Ocean, the ministry said, calling the exercises their “10th joint strategic air patrol.”
Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.
In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defense zone.
Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.
China and Russia have expanded military and defense ties since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine nearly four years ago.
Both are also traditional allies of North Korea, Seoul’s arch-foe.
