Gunmen shoot up Mexican newspaper office

Mexico City, Agency
Two gunmen opened fired early Wednesday on the offices of a newspaper in the western Mexican city of Mazatlan, the targeted daily said on its Web site.

No one was hurt in the post-midnight attack on Noroeste, as the paper's staff had already left the building. The assailants fired more than 60 rounds from assault rifles, shattering windows.

Noroeste said it received several threatening telephone calls Tuesday afternoon from people who identified themselves as members of La Linea, a group of hired guns associated with the Juarez drug cartel.

The callers demanded that the daily report on the crimes of the rival Sinaloa cartel, the newspaper said.

Police and soldiers rushed to the crime scene to collect evidence and begin the investigation.

Mazatlan, a coastal resort city in Sinaloa state, has experienced a "wave in violence" in recent weeks, Noroeste said on its Web site.

The Sinaloa cartel, Mexico's most powerful drug organization, is battling the Juarez outfit for control of the illicit trade in Ciudad Juarez, which sits astride key smuggling routes into neighboring Texas.