Explosion in Mexican border town kills 3
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 16, 2010 -- Updated 0606 GMT (1406 HKT)

(CNN) -- An explosion in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, killed at least three people Thursday night, including two police officers and a paramedic, authorities said.

Up to 20 people were wounded in the blast, reports said.

Federal police spokesman Ramon Salinas said the blast in the Mexican border city was caused by either a grenade or a car bomb and took place as authorities were responding to "some sort of emergency."

Earlier in the day, police announced the arrest of Jesus Armando Acosta Guerrero, believed to be a leader in the Juarez cartel -- one of two drug trafficking organizations operating in the area.

There had been relative calm in the city since elections were held in Juarez on July 4.

But Thursday's explosion and an attack Sunday against Mexican federal police mark the third and fourth major incidents in recent weeks.

On June 29, a shooting between suspected drug traffickers and Mexican federal police left one officer dead. The shooting was also seen as a watershed moment in the ongoing border drug war -- several bullets from that gunfight strayed across the border into Texas, hitting the El Paso City Hall. There were no injuries reported on the U.S. side.

On April 24, six federal police officers were killed in a daylight shooting in Juarez. Hours after the attack, a painted message found in the city allegedly from members of "La Linea" claimed responsibility for the attack. La Linea is an extension of the Juarez cartel, made up in part of former Juarez police officers, according to authorities.

Assaults against federal police have increased in recent months since they took full control of security in the city from the Mexican military on April 9.

"There have been at least a dozen, maybe 15 attacks against the federal police since we took over [security]," Salinas said.

The Juarez cartel and the Sinaloa cartel have been in a bloody turf war since 2008. More than 5,000 people have been killed due to drug related violence in Juarez during the turf war, according to local authorities.

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