Mexico is terrified by the bloodbath caused by the war between authorities and drug lords, 22 people being killed Wednesday in the north.

A police station in Cananea, located in the northern Mexican state of Sonora was attacked by a group of armed individuals. Seven policemen and six civilians were kidnapped, the authorities informed.

The gunmen began to execute the prisoners, four of the kidnapped police officers being killed. Police forces intervened in force, but the perpetrators managed to escape and a wild chase began. Eventually, the pursuit ended with a gunbattle between security forces and the members of a drug cartel as it was later revealed.

After the incident, another policeman and two civilians were found dead, allegedly killed by the criminal group. The rest of the kidnapped persons were rescued without injuries.

The North American country is swept by a regular civil war between the governmental forces and the drug cartels. Hundreds of people have been killed only in 2007, many of them being law enforces.