Gunmen kill 9 police in convoy ambush

Gunmen ambushed a convoy of five police vehicles in western Mexico yesterday, killing nine officers and leaving one missing.

The 20 officers in the convoy were outnumbered by the attackers, who were riding in about 10 sport utility vehicles, authorities in Jalisco state said.

The 10 officers who survived the attack fought an hours-long battle with the unidentified gunmen, and several were wounded.

The attackers used grenades and assault rifles before fleeing into neighbouring Michoacan state.

Michoacan is home to the violent La Familia cartel, which has been known to launch fierce attacks on police convoys. Jalisco authorities complained that Michoacan officials had not joined in the search for the attackers.

And in Zapopan, a suburb of the Jalisco state capital of Guadalajara, two two-year-old boys and three other people were wounded by grenade fragments during an attack on a private home.

Zapopan police said the toddlers, a 17-year-old girl and two adults were bystanders on a street outside the home. None of the wounds appeared life threatening.

Mexico's drug gangs frequently use grenades in such attacks, and several high-level drug traffickers have been known to live in the upmarket suburb of Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city.