Mexico shootout: Fourteen gunmen killed and three police wounded

The gun battle capped off the most violent weekend in the country’s recent history

A large gun battle in the northern Mexican town of Calera, in the state of Zacatecas, left 14 armed civilians dead and three police officers wounded on Monday.

Mexican police forces were conducting a tactical operation in the area when they were attacking by more than a dozen gunmen.  Two police officers suffered shrapnel wounds and another was shot. All three are in stable condition, according to the Associated Press.

Following the gunfight, the police confiscated the gunmen's vehicles and found eight assault rifles, including one with a grenade launcher attachment.  

Zacatecas has been the site of escalating cartel violence between the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels and the remnants of Los Zetas cartel.  

The Zacatecas State Security Minister Arturo Lopez Baltazar told Mexico News Daily that police presence in the region was being increased in an effort to keep the peace amid the cartel violence.  

Just over the Zacatecas border in the state of San Luis Potosi, 12 bodies were discovered. These are only the latest victims of cartel violence to end up dumped in the region; since the beginning of the year, 46 bodies have been found in the Zacatecas-SLP border region.  

Monday's battle capped off the most violent weekend in the country in recent years.  

Between Friday and Sunday, 273 murders occurred throughout the country.  

On Sunday alone, 114 people were killed. There were 34 people killed in the state of Guanajuato, 34 in the state of Mexico, 26 in Jalisco, 16 in Chihuahua, 14 in Puebla and 11 in Mexico city.  

Prior to this weekend, the most violent weekend was earlier this year over Father's Day weekend, when 265 people were murdered between 19 and 21 June.