Mexico Police Break Morelia Drug Gang Blockade

Mexico Police Break Morelia Drug Gang Blockade: "Mexican police have been involved in fierce gun battles with suspected drug traffickers blockading the main roads into Morelia, the capital of Michoacan state.

There has also been fighting in the nearby city of Apatzingan.

At least three people were killed, including an eight-month-old baby apparently caught in the crossfire.

Michoacan, in western Mexico, is a stronghold of a powerful drugs cartel known as La Familia Michoacana.

The five main roads leading in and out of Morelia were blocked by burning cars and buses, police said.

Gunmen fired into the air to force drivers and passengers out of their vehicles before setting them ablaze.

Schools kept children inside their classrooms for their protection, and the city's university was closed, the Mexican newspaper El Universal reported.

Fighting broke out as police moved in to clear the blockades.

The upsurge in violence in Michoacan began on Wednesday when federal police went into the city of Apatzingan to search for suspected La Familia gang members, police said.

They quickly came under fire with automatic weapons, and police reinforcements were also attacked as they drove to assist their colleagues.

Army troops and helicopters were also brought in, and the cartel gunmen retreated, blocking the road behind them with burning vehicles.

One police officer was killed along with two civilians - a baby and a young woman.

Mexico's public security ministry denied local media reports that a police helicopter was shot down during the fighting."

DISCLAIMER:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.