A series of shootings killed 24 people Saturday in a Pacific coast state plagued by drug gang violence. Nearly half died in one shootout between soldiers and armed men. The gunbattle erupted when attackers opened fire on soldiers patrolling the small town of Ajuchitlan del Progreso, said Valentin Diaz, director of the Guerrero state investigative police. Ten gunmen and one soldier were killed, he said. Diaz said the shootout broke out in the middle of the day in the center of the town as it was full of bystanders. He said state police were investigating and soldiers had reinforced security. President Felipe Calderon has deployed tens of thousands of troops to Guerrero and other drug-trafficking hotspots across Mexico in an effort to root out cartels. Gang violence has surged since the crackdown began three years ago, claiming more than 17,900 lives. Thirteen other people were killed in Guerrero in several other incidents before dawn, according to a state police report quoted by The Associated Press. Two decapitated men were found on a scenic road packed with nightclubs in the resort city of Acapulco. Another man was found shot to death on the edge of the city. Gunmen, meanwhile, killed five police officers on patrol in Tuncingo, a rural area outside Acapulco. In the same area, police found the bullet-ridden bodies of five other men, including two who had been beheaded.
