Mayor of central Mexican town, two bodyguards killed by gunmen

The mayor of a small town in central Mexico and two of his bodyguards were killed by gunmen in a shooting attack on a highway on Friday, according to the state Attorney General's Office (PGJEM).

The attack on Juan Antonio Mayen, mayor of the central Mexican town of Jilotzingo in the state of Mexico, occurred at 9:40 a.m. local time (1440 GMT) on a stretch of the Naucalpan-Ixtlahuaca Highway, roughly 40 kilometers from Mexico City, according to the office.

Two of his bodyguards, one of them a police officer, were also killed, while another two were injured.

Mayen had just completed his first 100 days in office last Friday after winning the post as the candidate of the conservative National Action Party (PAN). His term was to expire in 2018.

The mayor was heavily guarded and traveling in a vehicle provided by the public security agency of the town when the gunmen in pickup trucks drove up, intercepted the car and opened fire, killing the men in a hail of bullets.

The injured bodyguards were taken to a hospital in the neighboring city of Naucalpan for treatment.

Officials were investigating a possible connection between Mayen and a local criminal gang, whose leader was killed two months ago, according to media reports.

"We will go after the perpetrators and we will be transparent in the information derived from the related investigation," Jose Manzur, secretary general of the government of the state of Mexico, told reporters.

Jilotzingo, home to some 18,000 inhabitants, is located in a mountainous region some 78 kilometers northeast of the state capital Toluca.

At least 48 mayors have been killed since Mexico's drug war began in 2006. Many of them were believed to have been killed by drug cartels because of their refusal to meet the gangs' demands for money or obedience. Endi