At least 21 people have been killed after a fierce gun battle in the latest explosion of violence between rival Mexican drugs gangs.
The bloodshed took place only 12 miles from the U.S. border in Arizona in an area that is one of the main transit routes used by the powerful drug cartels.
Mexican authorities said the shoot-out in the state of Sonora was a showdown between rival drugs and migrant trafficking gangs.
Already this year more than 5,000 people in Mexico have been killed in drug-related violence.
The total death toll since the Mexican government launched an all-out war on the drug cartels in 2006 stands at 23,000.
The border towns have been gripped by increasing violence over lucrative drug routes in regions like Sonora, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez.
The ruthless cartels have killed hundreds of police officers, military officers, top officials and politicians with 2010 likely to be one of the worst year yet...
