'At Least 44' Killed In Huge Mexico Gunfight

At least 44 people have been killed after a gunfight between police and suspected members of a notorious Mexican drugs gang.

The incident happened in Tanhuato, in Michoacan state, after a convoy of police and soldiers was ambushed, according to a government official.

Almost all of the dead are suspected criminals, said the official - speaking anonymously, but several police officers are also thought to have been killed.

The gunmen took cover in a nearby ranch during the battle with police.

The area between Michoacan and Jalisco states is a stronghold of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Mexico's newest and fastest-growing cartel.

The gang has mounted several attacks on federal and state forces in recent months, killing at least 20 police.

Six military personnel also died when it shot down an army helicopter on 1 May.

On the same day, the cartel torched cars, banks and petrol stations around Mexico's second city, Guadalajara.

Violence in the region started to escalate in 2006 when the government deployed troops to take on the gangs.

More than 80,000 people have been killed nationally since then, and another 22,000 have gone missing

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who was elected on the promise to gain control of the cartels, is already under intense pressure to reduce the bloodshed.

Last year saw several incidents make headlines internationally - an alleged army massacre of gang suspects and the presumed slaughter of 43 students by a police-backed cartel in Guerrero state.