Official killed in Mexican city

The town's new police chief has asked for three bodyguards

A safety official is the latest victim of a spate of killings in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo.

The US ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza, had just announced that the US consulate, shut down after a shoot-out a week ago, was to be reopened.

Leopoldo Ramos, who headed the city's Public Safety Commission, was ambushed and gunned down in broad daylight near the city hall where he worked.

More than 100 people have been killed in Nuevo Laredo this year.

According to police, Mr Ramos was ambushed by three men carrying AK-47 machineguns.

They fired dozens of rounds at his car and then fled the scene in another vehicle.

Mr Ramos is believed to have died instantly along with another man who was in the car, thought to be his bodyguard.

A third passenger was seriously injured.

Rival gangs

The US ambassador acknowledged that the Mexican government had made efforts to restore law and order after bazookas, grenades and machine guns were used by battling drug gangs in a shoot-out last week.

The city is in the grips of a turf war between cartels which seek to control key smuggling routes across the US border.

The US state department had warned its citizens earlier this year not to travel to the violence-stricken city, known for its crime and kidnappings.

Victims so far this year include 15 municipal police officers and a local police chief, Alejandro Dominguez, who was shot dead only hours after taking office in June.

Hundreds of police officers are being investigated over alleged roles in drug-related crime.