The authorities in Mexico say at least ten people have been killed in a gunfight between the security forces and guerrillas in the southwestern state of Guerrero.

Officials blamed rebels from the left-wing Popular Revolutionary Army, or EPR.

Initial reports said both guerrillas and army troops are among the dead.

Officials say troops detained more than twenty rebels.

The EPR first emerged in southern Mexico in 1996, vowing to fight for social justice for Mexico's poor.