ACAPULCO, MEXICO - MARCH 01: A Mexican federal policeman inspects an abandoned car on March 1, 2012 in Acapulco, Mexico. Stolen vehicles used by drug gangs are often found abandoned throughout the city. Drug violence surged in the coastal resort last year, making Acapulco the second most deadly city in Mexico after Juarez. One of Mexico's top tourist destinations, Acapulco has suffered a drop in business, especially from foreign tourists, due to reports of the violence. Toursim accounts for some 9 percent of Mexico's economy and about 70 percent of the output of Acapulco's state of Guerrero. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (2012 Getty Images)
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) – Two highway shootouts between soldiers and suspected drug gang members in a northern border city resulted in 11 dead Saturday, including a bystander caught in the crossfire, Mexican authorities reported.
The violence in Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas, prompted the temporary closure of the highway, which is a major artery for travel and commerce between the United States and Mexico.
The Tamaulipas state government said in a statement that the armed confrontations began early Saturday when troops killed eight suspected criminals on the highway. Soldiers seized a truck and high-caliber weapons, it said.
An hour later another shootout broke out nearby in which two suspects were killed, along with a woman who was traveling in her car, authorities said.
Nuevo Laredo Mayor Carlos Canturosas said Saturday night via Facebook that the highway, which handles nearly half of the export-import cargo between Mexico and the United States, had reopened.
Nuevo Laredo has experienced high violence rates as rival factions of the Zetas drug cartel fight for control of the area.
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