Mexican Naval Troops Kill Six After Black Hawk Helicopter Comes Under Attack

A Mexican Navy helicopter came under fire from unidentified armed men near the US border on Sunday, leading to a shootout that left six of the attackers dead.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning while the helicopter patrolled a rural area south of the city of Nuevo Laredo, in the border state of Tamaulipas, directly across from Laredo, Texas. The area is considered under control of the Zetas cartel.

According to Mexico's Navy, known as Semar, troops aboard the Black Hawk chopper noticed a convoy of vehicles carrying armed men. The individuals opened fire on the helicopter, which led servicemen to fire warning shots against the attackers.

The gunfire from the vehicles continued, so the Navy responded, killing six.

A video posted on Semar's Youtube page shows bullet impacts suffered by the Black Hawk. Authorities continued to patrol the area, and have so far seized four vehicles and six weapons.

Few other details were released on Monday, including whether any of the attackers were detained. No Mexican servicemen were injured in the incident.

Sunday's events add to a series of attacks involving military helicopters in Mexico in recent months.

On May 1, suspected members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel used a rocket-propelled grenade to take down a military helicopter in the state of Jalisco, in an attack that killed nine federal agents in total.

On June 5, a helicopter belonging to the US Customs and Border Protection agency had to perform an emergency landing in Laredo, Texas, after being shot from the Mexican side of the border.

Related: Mexico Raises Death Toll in Helicopter Attack, Warns of More Violence in Drive Against Cartel

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