Four police officers killed in Mexico's most violent state

MEXICO CITY -- Gunmen in northern Mexico attacked a police patrol and killed four officers in a shooting that also left four people wounded, authorities said Tuesday.

The attack took place Monday in the north-central state of Guanajuato, which has Mexico’s highest number of homicide s. It has long been the scene of bloody turf battles between rival cartels, and the state has long been among the most deadly for police in Mexico.

State prosecutors said Tuesday the attack occurred in the town of Uriangato, near the border with the neighboring state of Michoacan. Those killed in the attack included one female officer.

The industrial and agricultural state of Guanajuato has for years been the scene of a bloody turf battle between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and a local gang, the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.