Blast kills two Mexican soldiers, five wounded

The device detonated Monday in Cotija in the western state of Michoacan when the patrol was investigating reports of a criminal presence in the area, Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla said.

"An improvised explosive device exploded. Unfortunately, two soldiers died and five more were injured," he told a news conference.

Before the blast, the patrol had discovered the dismembered bodies of three people, he said.

The explosives were suspected to have been planted by members of a local criminal group waging a turf war with a bigger drug cartel, Trevilla said.

The device was rudimentary and less powerful than real antipersonnel mines used by military forces in some other countries, though not in Mexico, he said.

Six other soldiers have been killed by similar improvised devices since late 2018, he said.

Mexico is plagued by widespread drug-related violence that has seen more than 450,000 people killed since the government deployed the army to combat trafficking in 2006, according to official figures.