By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A shootout between Mexican troops and a convoy of gunmen left 15 assailants and one soldier dead hours before US President Barack Obama arrived in the country to show his support for the fight against drug cartels.
The shootout happened in a remote, mountainous region in Guerrero state, where the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco is located, Mexico's Defense Department said in a statement Thursday.
Soldiers came under fire from a convoy of gunmen on Wednesday while patrolling the drug trafficking hotbed. One was killed and another wounded in the battle near the town of San Nicolas del Oro. Troops later seized two .50 caliber Barrett rifles, 17 other rifles, eight grenades, two handguns, ammunition and eight vehicles.