GUNMEN KILL 17 IN MEXICO

Gunmen opened fire early Sunday on a gathering in the northern Mexican
city of Torreon, killing at least 17 people, government officials said.

The attack occurred about 1:30 a.m. at a venue called Italia Inn when
the gunmen arrived armed with assault rifles and opened fire, they
said. An additional 18 people were wounded in the attack.

Photos from the local press showed pools of blood in a walled garden
patio. Upturned chairs and musical instruments were scattered under an
outdoor tent where the party had been taking place.

The gunmen blocked the exits to the venue before firing their AK-47
and AR-15 assault rifles, according to Mexican news reports.

More than 120 bullet casings were found by investigators at the scene.
A partial list of the dead placed the victims' ages between 20 and 38
years.

The motivation for the killings was unclear Sunday. Organized attacks
with assault rifles are usually the work of drug organizations.

The shooting was similar to a strike on a party in Ciudad Juarez on
Jan. 31 that left 15 students dead.

The teenagers had gathered to watch an American football game when a
group of gunmen arrived and opened fire.

That attack prompted public outcry in Ciudad Juarez and a visit from
President Felipe Calderon, who originally described the incident as a
conflict between gang members. Authorities later said it was a case of
mistaken identity.

Earlier this month, police said a local gang member had confessed to
the killings, saying that the target had been a rival drug group and
that the students were killed by accident.

The past week has been particularly bloody in northern
Mexico.

On Thursday, a car bomb exploded among police vehicles in Ciudad
Juarez, killing four people and marking what was believed to be the
first such attack during the drug war.

On Friday, four more people were killed in other towns throughout the
state of Chihuahua. Also that day, gunmen burst into a party at a
house in Ciudad Juarez, killing five factory workers.

Torreon too has been the site of escalating violence. The big
industrial city is the site of a conflict between the Zetas and Gulf
cartels, two drug-trafficking organizations.

In May, eight people were killed when three gunmen opened fire into a
local bar. That month, police officers in the city held a strike,
saying they had no protection from drug hit men.

More than 25,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in
Mexico since 2006, the year that President Calderon escalated the
government's fight against organized crime. A large part of the
violence occurs in northern Mexico, near U.S. border crossings where
drugs and firearms cross illegally.