April 24 (UPI) -- The attorney general for Mexico's Michoacán state said a shootout between rival drug cartels left nine civilians dead near in the Churumuco municipality.
Authorities said the shootout occurred Saturday afternoon. Local media outlets presume the shootout involved the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the New Familia Michoacana Cartel -- both of which carry out illicit operations in the area.
Police said eight bodies were found on a main road in the area of Poturo, which is populated by about 1,200 people, while authorities found another body off in a mountainous area.
"Nine civilians lost their lives after confrontation by antagonistic groups ... the victims were wounded by firearm projectiles," the Michoacán prosecutor's office said in a statement on Sunday.
In early April, Mexican security forces captured Iván "El Terrible" Margarito Esquivel García, a leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
