Armed assailants opened fire on the group of vehicles on the international bridge that connects the north Mexican town of Miguel Aleman with Roma in southern Texas, the Tamaulipas state security department said.
Initial reports indicated nine people were wounded in the attack, with the agency later confirming three had suffered gunshot wounds with the other six suffering from panic attacks. A state official, who spoke anonymously as he did not have authorisation to speak publicly, said those injured included both US and Mexican nationals.
Tamaulipas state security spokesman Jorge Cuellar said those injured were taken back over the international bridge and handed to US authorities. The Miguel Aleman fire department revealed the wounded were part of a group of at least 20 people travelling to central Mexico.
Upon entering Miguel Aleman from Texas, the group were opened fire upon by an artisanal armoured truck. The assailants fled as return fire was opened against them.
Cartels and other criminal organisations commonly use the type of armoured truck that opened fire on the convoy travelling from the US to Mexico. In recent months, there has been a wave of violence in Tamaulipas that has prompted authorities to send in hundreds of soldiers to reinforce security patrols in the border cities of San Fernando, Reynosa and Matamoros, where cells of the Gulf Cartel and other criminal organisations operate.
