Fourteen Police officers have been killed and three others injured in a shooting in El Aguaje, Michoacán State in western Mexico.

The policemen were reportedly enforcing a court order in El Aguaje when their convoy was attacked in an ambush believed to have been carried out by a powerful criminal group, the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel (CJNG). 

Authorities in the country said all resources would be put into finding and arresting all those responsible for the attack in El Aguaje, a hotspot for violence linked to turf wars between drug cartels.

Reports say the convoy of patrol vehicles was ambushed as they passed through the town by heavily armed men in a number of pick-up trucks who then opened fire on the officers and set their vehicles ablaze.

El Aguaje is considered to be of strategic importance between two battling cartels in Mexico, the CJNG and a splinter group of the Knights Templar called Los Viagras.

The supposed leader of the CJNG was killed by Michoacan Police less than a week ago. In August, nine people were found hanging from a bridge in Michoacan, with seven other dead bodies found on the road.

Reacting to the attack, the Michoacan Governor, Silvano Aureoles Conejo said there would be no impunity for the attack on his men.

Mexican President, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has been trying to tackle drug crime since he took office last December.

Despite the government’s efforts to tackle drug crime, last year witnessed a record number of murders with over 29,000 recorded. With the recent happenings, this year is be set to surpass that figure.