Mexican gunmen kidnap 23 people from clinic

Prosecutors from the Mexican city of Irapuato said Thursday that 23 people were abducted from a private drug rehabilitation center, 13 of whom have been found alive.

Guanajuato state prosecutor Carlos Zamarripa said that a total of 30 people were at the rehab center in the north-central Mexican state when a gang burst in on Wednesday.

Witnesses said a large group of men arrived in several vehicles and entered the Irapuato facility, according to news agency AFP.  Some of those present fled from the gunmen, while others were left injured, officials said.

Zamarripa said the incident appears to be related to drug dealing, adding that those who had been found were unwilling to talk.

"We have the names of 23 (victims), of whom 13 have since reappeared and 10 are still missing," Zamarripa told journalists. "Some of them are injured and have, understandably, been very reluctant to talk about what happened."

Read more: Mexico: When drug violence 'turns into terrorism'

Mexican drug gangs have used rehab clinics in the past to find customers or hide dealers. Rival gangs have been known to attack the clinics to target competitors or recruit addicts as dealers. In October 2010, gunmen shot dead 13 people at a Tijuana drug rehabilitation center.

Like other parts of Mexico, violent crime has been increasingly on the rise in the industrial Guanajuato state, which isalso a popular tourist destination.

mvb/dr (AP, AFP)

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