Twelve gunmen were killed in a battle with the military in Tamaulipas, the authorities of this northeastern Mexican state announced yesterday Sunday.

The conflict broke out during a military patrol in the municipality of Miguel Aleman, on the border with the US, the state Department of Security said on social media.

“Elements of SEDENA (s.s. of the army) were attacked by armed civilians who were hidden in low vegetation” and “12 attackers were neutralized”, said the same source about the incident, which occurred around 14:00 (s.s. . local time; 22:00 Greek time).

AFP government sources confirmed that 12 attackers, believed to be members of a drug cartel, were killed in a battle with the army, whose members used drones and a helicopter.

Tamaulipas is among the states affected by the violence of organized crime. It often turns into a theater of conflicts between rival gangs, vying for control of golden drug trafficking routes to the US.

More than 420,000 murders have been officially recorded in Mexico since the so-called “war on drugs” began in 2006, with the deployment of the armed forces inside the country to crack down on the cartels. Since then, the country’s homicide rate has tripled, reaching 25 per 100,000 residents. Over 110,000 enforced disappearances have also been recorded, the majority since 2006. Most of the murders and enforced disappearances are attributed by the authorities to organized crime gangs.