By Senabri Silvestre
SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep. (AA) – Fifteen victims were killed in armed attacks in Mexico, including 11 members of one family who were shot while still in their beds, officials said Saturday.
Five minors were among the dead in the attacks that occurred Friday night and early Saturday in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of the northern state of Tamaulipas, according to the coordination group Tamaulipas, in charge of security for the state. The group comprised of federal and state agencies and is investigation the attacks.
Officials have not specified who is responsible for the attacks, but state government secretary Herminio Garza Palacios attributed the attacks to fighting between various factions of organized crime vying for control of the city.
During a videoconference call, Palacios said in one attack at 7 a.m. local time (1200GMT) gunmen entered a home of one family and killed two men and nine women.
Approximately 45 minutes later, armed men killed three other people in another house, leaving four more injured.
Local media reported Friday that a 16-year-old boy was killed at a bus station and another house was attacked with grenades.
Tamaulipas, which borders the U.S. state of Texas, is one of the states hardest hit by violence linked to drug trafficking in Mexico.
This territory is disputed by the powerful El Golfo and Los Zetas cartels.
Authorities have said that the battle for Ciudad Victoria has claimed at least 100 lives since late 2015.
