Polixtepec, Mexico, Nov 24 (EFE).- Four members of the same family were murdered by gunmen in Polixtepec, a city in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, police said.
About 40 gunmen attacked the family's house on Sunday night with grenades and firearms, killing three children and their mother, and kidnapping the father and a young man related to the family.
State police and Guerrero Attorney General's Office agents responded to the attack and found the bodies of Cristina Barragan, 45, and her three children, ages 23, 18 and 16.
The gunmen, who were armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenades, set fire to three houses.
Criminals and members of vigilante groups formed by residents have been clashing constantly for about a month in the area.
The area is home to poppy fields and numerous laboratories used to turn the plant into heroin.
The Los Rojos, Guerreros Unidos and Cartel de la Sierra del Sur have been fighting for control of the area for several years.
At least three people were killed and seven others wounded in a shootout between drug traffickers and vigilantes on Nov. 6 in Polixtepec.
The vigilantes had responded to a call for help from residents.
