10 arrested for attack on small-town city hall in Mexico

Mexico City, Dec 4 (IANS) Ten men have been arrested in connection with last weekend's attack on a small-town city hall in north Mexico's border state of Coahuila, local authorities said.

Saturday's assault in Villa Union, a town of several thousand residents located some 65 km from the US border, has left a total of 23 people dead.

The operation to capture the alleged attackers was carried out by army soldiers, police and members of the National Guard, Coahuila's Secretariat of Public Security said on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The brazen midday attack saw at least 60 armed assailants travelling in a convoy drive into the town and open fire on the city hall building, authorities said.

The attack was carried out by members of the Northeast drug cartel, presumably in a bid to control area drug trafficking routes into the United States.

Among the dead are 17 of the assailants, four police officers and two civilians.