Mexico: Armed attack on car rally participants kills 10

Mexico affected by a new bloody drama. An armed attack on a group of amateur rally drivers left 10 dead and 9 injured Saturday in the northern Mexican city of Ensenada, according to local authorities. Motorists participating in an off-road race were parked on the side of a highway when several men got out of a pickup truck and fired in their direction, the municipality of Ensenada said in a statement.

The attack "left nine wounded and ten dead," the document said. Videos posted on social media showed the bodies of victims littering a dusty pavement next to 4x4s. The Baja California State Attorney's Office, which covers the city of Ensenada particularly affected by drug-related violence, announced the formation of a "special investigation group" to identify the killers and determine the motives for the attack.

More than 700 murders since the beginning of the year

Some of the injured were treated immediately by Red Cross relief workers before being transferred to hospitals in the city. In Mexico, the state of Baja California has the highest number of intentional homicides, mostly attributed to criminal organizations.

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Between January and April, 721 murders were recorded there, according to official data. Mexico, mired in a spiral of violence, has recorded more than 400,000 dead and tens of thousands missing since the launch of a military anti-drug offensive in 2006.