Scores dead in Mexico casino attack

Casino after attack At least 40 people have been killed and a dozen more injured after gunmen burst into a casino in the northern Mexican city of Monterey and set it on fire. Adrian de la Garza, the prosecutor for Nuevo Leon state, of which Monterrey is the capital, told reporters outside the massive casino that Thursday's attack had left 40 people dead, adding that the death toll could still rise.
The incident at Casino Royale, represented one of the deadliest attacks on an entertainment centre in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006.
State police officials quoted survivors as saying about two dozen armed men burst into the casino, apparently to rob it, and began dousing the premises with fuel from tanks they brought with them. The officials were not authorised to be quoted by name for security reasons.
With shouts and profanities, the attackers told the customers and employees to get out. But many terrified customers and employees fled further inside the building, where they died trapped amid the flames and thick smoke that soon billowed out of the building.
Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal said many of the bodies were found inside the casino's bathrooms, where employees and customers had locked themselves to escape the gunmen. Angel Flores, a commander of the Monterrey Green Cross rescue service, said most died of asphyxiation.
'Act of terror'
Authorities said a drug cartel was apparently responsible for the attack. Cartels often extort casinos and other businesses, threatening to attack them or burn them to the ground if they refuse to pay.
In an act of desperation, authorities commandeered backhoes from a nearby construction site to break into the casino's walls to try to reach the people trapped inside.
"This is a night of sadness for Mexico," said federal security spokesman Alejandro Poire in a televised address.
"An unspeakable, repugnant, unacceptable act of terror has been committed."
"These unspeakable acts of terror will not go unpunished," Poire said, adding federal authorities were aiding state forces in the investigation.
While there was no immediate information linking the attack to drug cartels, Monterrey has seen bloody turf battles between the Zetas and Gulf cartels in recent months.
Once Mexico's symbol of development and prosperity, the city is seeing this year's drug-related murders on a pace to double last year's and triple those of the year before.
Larrazabal said the casino, in a well-off part of Monterrey, had been closed by authorities in May for building an expansion without a permit, but a judge later granted the owner an injunction to continue operating.
Initial reports said 11 patrons had been killed, but the death toll climbed as emergency personnel and firefighters searched the casino building. Medics treated survivors for smoke inhalation.