5 killed after small plane shot down in N Mexico

MEXICO CITY - A small plane was shot down on Tuesday in Mexico's northern state of Chihuahua, killing all five people on board, regional news website Linea Directa reported.

The Sinaloa-based news site quoted eyewitnesses as saying the Cessna 206 aircraft was shot by armed men belonging to a criminal ring based out of Sinaloa state, which borders Chihuahua to the south.

The downing of the plane in the town of Urique was the latest of a series of attacks over the past 48 hours by elements of organized crime against law enforcement, the website said.

On Monday night, residents reported a clash on the outskirts of Cieneguita de Rejo, a town on the border between Sinaloa and Chihuahua, saying it gradually expanded to the Chihuahua sierra. No authorities have confirmed the clash.

In March, unknown assailants in the area killed two survey takers working for Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography.