Twenty-Two Killed as Military, Assailants Clash in Mexico

Mexico City: Military troops targeted by armed assailants who were guarding a warehouse returned fire Monday, killing 22 suspects.

The defense ministry said 21 men and one woman were among the dead in Tlatlaya, Mexico state, and one servicemember was hurt.

The warehouse was being watched by "armed guards," who opened fire when spotted by the troops, causing the military to return fire, it added.

Mexican media, however, reported that it was a synthetic drug lab run by the La Familia Michoacana cartel. The military did not address those reports.

Some 80,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006.