Nine people killed in shootout between rival outfits in Mexico

Nine people have been killed in southern Mexico in a shootout between two groups using high-powered weapons, authorities said Thursday.

Several organized crime groups dedicated to trafficking drugs operate in the area and often clash over control of supply routes.

The confrontation occurred Wednesday on a highway in a rural area in the state of Guerrero, the local attorney's office said in a statement.

"The deceased are close to Zenen Nava Sanchez, leader of the criminal group, Los Rojos," it read, adding an investigation had been launched into the incident.

A long-running dispute for territory between Los Rojos and a rival gang has left more than a thousand people dead. The dispute centered on a town some ten kilometers from where the firefight took place, according to local media.

Experts at the site retrieved 50 bullets used in high-caliber weapons such as the AK-47 assault rifle.

SS