Ojocaliente, Mexico - A car bomb attack on a Mexican police station was likely a reprisal by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel following the capture of one of its hitmen, authorities said Monday.
The blast in Ojocaliente, located in Zacatecas state, injured two police officers and eight civilians when it occurred overnight Sunday.
The attack was the third of its kind in less than a week in Zacatecas, where Mexico's two largest drug cartels have been fighting for control due to the state's strategic value in the US-bound drug trade.
State prosecutor Cristian Camacho linked the incident to the arrest of an 18-year-old man who claimed to be a hitman for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel one day earlier.
"We do not rule out that yesterday's attack was a reaction" to the arrest, Camacho told Formula Radio, adding that "everything indicates" that the cartel was responsible for the bomb.
A prosecutor spokesperson told AFP that no further information about the attack was available.
The explosion rattled surrounding buildings and led to the suspension of classes on Monday.
Zacatecas is a key transit point for drugs making their way up into the US, and the presence of trafficking groups has provoked extreme violence in the state.
In July, five bodies appeared hanging from a bridge in the town of Pozos de Gamboa, about 47 miles from Ojocaliente.
The killings drew the attention of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who promised to arrest whoever was behind them.