Gunmen Kill Policeman, Wound 3 More In Tijuana

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) – Gunmen opened fire on a patrol car in the drug-plagued border city of Tijuana, killing one police officer and wounding three more, authorities said Monday.

Tijuana police said in a statement that Sunday’s attack brings to 18 the number of officers that have been killed this year in the city across from San Diego.

Another attack against police wounded two bystanders on Saturday, the statement said.

Criminal gangs have increasingly targeted police across the country in recent weeks as President Felipe Calderon made arrests of cartel members a central part of his national campaign against organized crime.

A series of attacks across western Michoacan state this weekend killed five police officers and two soldiers. Police say drug traffickers were retaliating for the arrest of a main operative of the La Familia cartel, based in the state.

Drug violence has killed more than 11,000 people in Mexico since late 2006, when Calderon took office.

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