MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican soldiers and police killed 9 suspected gunmen in shootouts near the U.S. border Thursday.

The government of the northern border state of Coahuila said state police officers came under fire while patrolling a dirt road southwest of the border city of Nuevo Laredo. 

The state said that soldiers were called in for reinforcement and that they pursued and killed the attackers following a confrontation. 

Of the two vehicles found at the scene, one was a truck fitted with homemade steel-plate armor. Such trucks, known as "monsters," are often used by drug gangs in the region. 

The state government said 10 weapons were found at the scene, including a .50-caliber sniper rifle.