Death toll from massacre at Mexican home rises to 9

MEXICO CITY, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of deaths from an armed attack on a home in Monterrey on Saturday night has risen to nine, authorities announced on Sunday.

The prosecutor for the state of Nuevo Leon, Bernardo Gonzalez, revealed that after seven men died on the spot, two more died while receiving medical care at local hospitals.

Preliminary reports revealed that a group of masked men attacked a group of 20 people, who were gathered to watch a football match in the town of San Nicolas de los Garza, part of the Monterrey urban area.

"The victims were watching a football match when the attackers arrived on the spot. They locked the women in the bathroom and shot nine of the men," said Gonzalez, quoted by local press.

The prosecutor said that drugs were seized in the home where the attack happened, but he dismissed any links to a war between cartels.

According to him, the incident was down to a dispute between smaller groups involved in the drug trade.

Monterrey, Mexico's main industrial base, was the site of the worst attack by organized crime on civilians in August 2011, when members of the Los Zetas cartel set fire to a casino and killed 52 people, as the owners had refused to pay extortion money.

According to official reports, 2017 was the most violent year on record for Mexico, with 29,168 murders being reported. Enditem