The Mercury News

Drug cartel gunmen kill nine U.S. citizens

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MEXICO CITY » The Drug cartel gunmen ambushed three SUVs along a dirt road, slaughteri­ng six children and three women — all U.S. citizens living in northern Mexico — in a grisly attack that left one vehicle a burned-out, bullet-riddled hulk, authoritie­s said Tuesday.

The dead included 8-month-old twins. Eight youngsters were found alive after escaping from the vehicles and hiding in the brush. At least five had gunshot wounds or other injuries and were being treated in the U.S., where they were listed as stable, officials and relatives said.

One woman was killed after she apparently jumped out of her vehicle and waved her hands to show she wasn’t a threat, according to family members and prosecutor­s.

Mexican Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo said the gunmen may have mistaken the group’s large SUVs for those of rival gangs.

The bloodshed took place Monday in a remote, mountainou­s area in northern Mexico where the Sinaloa cartel has been engaged in a turf war. The victims had set out to visit relatives in Mexico; one woman was headed to the airport in Phoenix to meet her husband.

While a drug-related violence has been raging for years in Mexico, the attack underscore­d the way cartel gunmen have become increasing­ly unconcerne­d about killing children as collateral damage. Around the ambush scene, which stretched for miles, investigat­ors found more than 200 shell casings, mostly from assault rifles.

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