17 gunned down in Mexico fiesta slaughter

TORREON, Mexico — To cries of "Kill them all!" gunmen opened fire at a weekend fiesta Sunday, mowing down at least 17 people in an attack that laid bare the brutality of Mexico's long-running drug war.A dozen people were also wounded as the killers sprayed more than 200 bullets indiscriminately at the private party outside Torreon, an industrial city in the northern state of Coahuila.Sunday's attack brought the number of victims across the country, which has been blighted by drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon launched a 2006 crackdown on the cartels, to at least 57 just in the past weekend.The attack began at around 1:30 am (0630 GMT) as the murder squad rolled up at the popular venue in the usually calm suburb of Torreon, which is surrounded by picturesque gardens and lakes."A heavily armed hit squad arrived and cried 'killed them all!' and they started shooting," a Coahuila police source told AFP, citing a witness. Most of those gunned down were in their 20s and 30s.Investigators found more than 200 shell casings, mostly from bullets fired by AK-47 automatic rifles, which are widely used by Mexican drug gangs.Mexico's drug war sees daily killings as rival gangs battle to control smuggling routes into the lucrative US market and security forces attempt to clamp down on the cartels.Ground zero for the violence is Ciudad Juarez on the US-Mexico border, which saw some 2,660 murders in 2009 alone -- more than seven a day on average.Located some 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of the US border at a key intersection for two major highways, Torreon has seen a spike in drug-related violence recently.This latest fiesta shooting was reminiscent of a similar attack in late January when hitmen working for a drug gang opened fire and killed 16 young partygoers in Ciudad Juarez.In that attack, some 15 gunmen opened fire on a house party packed with teenagers, most of whom were high school or college students. Some were shot outside the dwelling, others gunned down as they tried to flee.Almost at th

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