Authorities say Mexican soldiers killed 13 gunmen in a clash in the northern state of Zacatecas.
Zacatecas state prosecutors' spokesman Jorge Flores says soldiers also seized several automatic rifles and vehicles. Flores said Thursday's clash took place in a remote area of the town of Sombrerete.
Zacatecas Attorney General Arturo Nahle told Milenio Television a gunman survived and told authorities he belongs to the Gulf drug cartel.
The state of Zacatecas began seeing a rise in drug violence after the brutal Zetas drug cartel split from the Gulf cartel in 2010 and began pushing west from their home base in northeast Mexico.
More recently the state has been a hot spot for violence after the falling out between leaders of the Zetas drug gang and turf battles with other cartels.
