MEXICO CITY (AP) — Six suspected cartel gunmen are dead following shootings in the northern Mexico state of Tamaulipas, near the Texas border.

The Tamaulipas state government says the shootings followed a series of gun battles between rival gangs in the area around Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas.

The state government said Wednesday that five men in their 30s and 40s were forced out of three vehicles by armed assailants and shot to death in a convenience store parking lot.

Some of those killed in the Tuesday night confrontation had tattoos, but have not yet been identified. Their bullet-ridden bodies and vehicles were found at the scene.

Also Tuesday, a gunman was killed by marines after firing on a military patrol. He was wearing military-style clothes and had a rifle.

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