6 slain in drug gang killings in northern Mexico mountains

MEXICO CITY – Prosecutors in the northern Mexico border state of Chihuahua say five men and a woman have died in a string of apparent drug gang slayings.

One of the suspected attackers was detained and another killed in a subsequent shootout with army troops. The two suspects were travelling in an SUV with the letters “GN.”

Prosecutors say that stands for “Gente Nueva,” an armed wing of the Sinaloa drug cartel that is fighting the Juarez cartel for territory in Chihuahua.

The state prosecutors’ office said Monday that the two suspects apparently participated in the killings of the six victims, whose bodies were found at various businesses in the town of Jimenez.

The area is part of a region known for growing opium poppies and marijuana.