Mexico gang launches car bomb near US border

MEXICO CITY – Mexican officials say suspected cartel gunmen have launched a complex attack involving heavy weapons and a car bomb on a police dormitory less than 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) from the U.S. border.

The two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not yet authorized to release the information, said a number of police were wounded in the attack early Thursday morning in Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas state. The attack began with men opening fire, then setting off a car bomb in front of the police dorm. The officials did not provide details.

The officials said they believed the Zetas, one of Mexico's two most powerful criminal organizations, carried out the attack on the Hotel Santa Cecilia in Nuevo Laredo.

The Zetas, founded by special forces defectors, have carried out a number of sophisticated attacks, but Thursday's appears to be one of the most elaborate.