Suspected car bomb explodes in cartel-dominated Mexican city, wounds several National Guard officers
Mexico City (AP): An apparent booby trap or car bomb exploded in a cartel-dominated Mexican city, wounding several officers of Mexico's National Guard, who approached the vehicle to inspect it, authorities confirmed on Thursday.
The National Guard said the explosion occurred late Wednesday in the city of Celaya, in the north-central state of Guanajuato, where the Jalisco and Santa Rosa de Lima drug cartels have been fighting a bloody turf war for years.
The use of a car bomb to intentionally cause law enforcement casualties marks an escalation of the infighting between rival cartels and is reminiscent of a 2010 car bomb blast that killed three people in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez at the height of the 2006-2012 drug war.
The officers were reportedly responding to a report about a car parked with what appeared to be bodies inside. As they approached, the vehicle exploded, sending guard officers flying. There was no immediate information on the condition of the wounded, though at least three suffered considerable injuries that required hospitalisation.
Mexican drug cartels have used improvised explosive devices sporadically over the last two decades. But Guanajuato security analyst David Saucedo said Wednesday's car bomb appeared to constitute a progression into terrorist-style acts.
"These are high-impact actions that seek to create terror in the population and create massive coverage in the media and social media," Saucedo said. "Attacks with car bombs allow gangs to cause casualties among their rivals with no risk. Making such bombs is cheap and low risk."
Saucedo said the blast may also illustrate vulnerabilities in Mexico's quasi-military National Guard, which was created by President Andr s Manuel L pez Obrador to act as the country's main law-enforcement agency.
He said police in Celaya who have seen about a dozen of their colleagues murdered since the beginning of the year tend to approach abandoned cars with much more caution, but on Wednesday National Guard officers "fell into the trap."
Warring drug cartels in the neighbouring state of Michoacan have used bomb-dropping drones and improvised explosive devices on roads for at least two years, and there have been suspicious blasts in Guanajuato before.
In 2022, a forensic examiner and a detective were wounded when an explosive device went off while they were examining a crime scene in Guanajuato. The device appeared to have been a booby trap, though police never confirmed that.
Wednesday's blast came as a massive search continued for 16 state employees kidnapped at gunpoint by suspected drug gang members Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas.
Relatives of the abducted officers crowded onto highways and streets in Chiapas Thursday to block traffic, demanding they be found and freed.
The kidnapped officers were seen in a video posted on social media Wednesday, in which one of the victims read a statement. The statement said the abductors were demanding the resignation of at least three state police officials, including the second-in-command of the force. One of the cartels operating in Chiapas has accused the police officials of favouring a rival gang.
The Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels have launched a turf battle in the state, which borders Guatemala, for control of its drug and immigrant trafficking.
L pez Obrador said Thursday at his morning press briefing that he was willing to investigate the state police officials whose resignation the gang had demanded but that the gang had to release the abducted officers first.
"The first thing is for them to free the victims without any conditions," L pez Obrador said. "We are going to investigate the conduct of these three officials ... but first they have to release them."
The president has steadily maintained that Mexico's drug cartel violence problem is under control and declining. He has taken a sort of paternalistic, non-confrontational attitude toward the cartels, and on Wednesday said "they had better release them (the abducted police employees). If not, I'm going to tell on them to their fathers and grandfathers."
On Thursday, L pez Obrador briefly spoke about the kidnapping and then launched into a detailed description of his breakfast menu and played a tape of his favourite new song to improve the musical tastes of young people.
The blast in Guanajuato came on the same day that authorities in the border state of Chihuahua reported that eight people had been killed and two burned-out vehicles were found following an apparent drug cartel clash in the town of Guachochi, in a mountainous region near the border with the neighbouring states of Sinaloa and Durango.
The area is known for drug cartel activity and drug production.
#BREAKING #Mexico Mexico: Five National Guard agents were injured by a car bomb in the city of Celaya, Guanajuato last night. This is the latest attack in a wave of violence against police in Guanajuato, the most deadly state for security forces in Mexico. pic.twitter.com/6UiiAxgRrx
— National Independent (@NationalIndNews) June 29, 2023
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PM Modi speaks to Iranian president, discusses 'serious' situation in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.
Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.
The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.
“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.
The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.
The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.
In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.
Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.
Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.
