Gunmen shot and killed 12 people, including six children, in a suspected attack by a drug gang

Gunmen shot and killed 12 people, including six children, in a suspected attack by a drug gang in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco.A group of armed men fired large caliber guns on three homes in the town of Macuspana, some 19 miles (30 kms) from the capital of Villahermosa, killing six children and six adults today.A source at Tabasco's justice department said a police officer was among those killed but it was not immediately clear if the other victims were his relatives.Extreme violence is increasing as President Felipe Calderon pushes ahead with his army-backed war against Mexico's top drug smugglers, which killed 6,000 people in 2008.Local media said the officer could have been involved in the recent arrest of drug dealers.Unlike northern states - home to Mexico's most vicious drug gangs - Tabasco, a green, lush state that produces bananas and oil, is not known for drug-related crimes.