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MEXICO CITY - TWELVE people were killed in northern Mexico close to the US border, including eight in Ciudad Juarez, in the latest violence attributed to the country's brutal drug war.
In Ciudad Juarez, known as Mexico's most violent city, a shooting on Wednesday between policemen and gunmen attacking a soda delivery truck killed two people - an attacker and a deliveryman, according to local police officials.
In another part of the city, a commando unit of hitmen killed a 35-year-man with several bullets after having chased him down several streets.
The other victims were shot down on Wednesday in other parts of Chihuahua state, where Ciudad Juarez is a border city across from El Paso, Texas.
Feuding drug cartels have engaged in a brutal battle for dominance across the country, with some 5,400 people killed in 2008.
The drug-related killings are especially prevalent in northern Mexico, the source of most illegal drug shipments to the United States, the world's biggest cocaine consumer.
The rampant violence comes despite the deployment of some 36,000 troops across the country under the administration of President Felipe Calderon, who took power in late 2006. -- AFP
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