Mexico City, Aug 25 (AP) Seven people were killed in an armed confrontation between gunmen and army troops in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, authorities have said.

State security spokesman Roberto Alvarez said in a statement that six civilians and one soldier died in the town of El Naranjo when soldiers came under fire last morning. Guerrero has been a flashpoint for drug cartel violence in Mexico.

Meanwhile, officials said a leader of the Gulf cartel was captured yesterday in the northern city of Monterrey. National Security Commissioner Renato Sales identified the man only by his first names "Hector Adrian".

A Nuevo Leon state official, who was not authorised to discuss the details of the case and requested anonymity, said the suspect was Hector Adrian Lucio Benavides, alias "La Yegua". The Gulf cartel has fractured in recent years and Lucio Benavides allegedly belonged to the Ciclones faction.

Sales said the suspect allegedly coordinated fuel theft, extortion, kidnapping, drug and migrant trafficking in Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz states. A second man was also arrested on a warrant for kidnapping. (AP) HMB

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