The surviving 20 officers in a northern Mexican town have turned in their badges after an attack by gunmen killed three officers on Tuesday. A previous attack in May killed the force's chief and two other officers. State and federal police have moved in to take over police work in Ascension, southwest of Ciudad Juarez, AP reports.
The officers had been in their jobs for less than a year. They took the work after authorities replaced the town's entire police force following the mob killing of two alleged kidnappers and claims that the force was aiding drug traffickers. Replacement police chief Manuel Martinez vowed to end the kidnappings and extortion that plagued the town. His bullet-ridden body was found in the back of a sedan, along with the bodies of two other officers, a day after he was kidnapped. (More Mexico stories.)