Nine killed in armed attack on wake in central Mexico

One person was also wounded in the attack outside a house where the wake was being held in a neighborhood in the west of Celaya, the municipal government said in a statement. Celaya is in the state of Guanajuato, one of Mexico's main flashpoints of gang violence in the past few years and a major hub for the automotive industry.

Unidentified gunmen burst into a wake in the central Mexican city of Celaya late on Thursday and shot dead nine people, authorities said, one of the worst outbreaks of violence to hit the country during the past few weeks. One person was also wounded in the attack outside a house where the wake was being held in a neighborhood in the west of Celaya, the municipal government said in a statement.

Celaya is in the state of Guanajuato, one of Mexico's main flashpoints of gang violence in the past few years and a major hub for the automotive industry. Heavy, rapid gunfire could be heard ringing out in video footage shot close to the attack and broadcast by Mexican media.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office two years ago pledging to reduce record levels of violence, but homicides have continued to test new peaks. (Writing by Dave Graham; editing by Philippa Fletcher)