Ten kidnappers killed in Mexico hostage rescue

---

MEXICO CITY, Dec 9 (AFP): Mexican soldiers and police Tuesday killed 10 kidnappers when they stormed a house in northern Durango state and rescued a group of hostages, local authorities said.
"The victims were being held captive by some 20 gunmen who, on seeing themselves surrounded opened fire," an official with the Durango Attorney General's Office told AFP. In the shootout with state police and soldiers, 10 of the kidnappers were killed, the official added.
Acting on telephone tip, police first approached the house in the town of Cuencame by helicopter, the daily El Universal said on its website.
Gunmen inside the house opened fire, wounding a state police chief and his bodyguard.
During the gun battle that followed, which lasted more than four hours, some of the kidnappers managed to escape aboard pickup trucks, the paper reported.