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Gang-related violence claims 28 lives in El Salvador

San Salvador, Aug 17 (EFE).- Gang violence and clashes between gang members and police left 28 people dead in the space of less than 24 hours, the Salvadoran Attorney General's Office told EFE Monday.

Eleven of Sunday's 28 fatalities were gang members killed by police who acted "in self-defense," the AG office said.

Police acting on a tip from the public deployed to the southeastern town of Panchimalco around 1 a.m. Sunday with plans to arrest members of the Barrio 18 Revolucionarios gang.

The suspects started shooting when they spotted the police, who responded with gunfire, killing five gang members, the AG office said.

Six other gang members died in similar incidents across the country.

Gang violence resulted in 17 other homicides on Sunday, the AG office said.

The Salvadoran national medical examiner's service released last Wednesday a report documenting 3,603 homicides so far this year, or an average of 16.2 per day.

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