Mexican drug gang kills five troops

MEXICO CITY, May 2 (Reuters) Masked drug gang gunmen in several vehicles shot dead five soldiers in western Mexico, the army said today, in a blow to President Felipe Calderon's war against drug gangs.

One of the gunmen was also killed during the shootout with police and troops yesterday night in the town of Caracuaro, in the state of Michoacan.

The assailants sped away before any arrests could be made, an army spokesman said.

Gangland-style killings are still a daily occurrence as drug cartels fight over turf in northern and western Mexico, despite Calderon sending thousands of troops and federal police out to hunt down gang members.

Some 2,000 people were killed in drug-related violence last year, and deaths so far this year number more than 700.

Some of the worst violence has been in Michoacan, Calderon's home state where the Gulf Cartel and local proxies are fighting an alliance of drug traffickers headed by Mexico's most wanted man, Joaquin ''Shorty'' Guzman.

Reuters RS DB2306