EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Police in the border state of Tamaulipas are investigating the aftermath of a shootout between suspected cartel members and Mexican soldiers. The firefight left 12 people dead near the town of Miguel Aleman on Sunday night.

“More than a confrontation, it was an aggression from armed individuals – presumed members of a criminal group – that attacked soldiers on routine patrol in an area where we have had problems,” Tamaulipas Public Safety Secretary Jorge Cuellar told MVS Noticias.

Cuellar said 12 armed civilians were killed during the confrontation several miles south of the U.S. border near Roma, Texas. A dozen firearms and assorted tactical equipment were recovered from the scene. There were no reports of soldiers injured or killed during the exchange of gunfire.

The state official said all indications point to an ambush against the soldiers and took exception to some local news media characterizing the event as an army massacre.

“It was an aggression from armed civilians […] hidden in the brush that attacked public safety forces,” Cuellar told MVS.

The Mexican official did not identify the attackers’ criminal affiliation. However, Miguel Aleman last September was the site of a firefight between Northeast Cartel forces and the Metros gang affiliated with the Gulf cartel. That incident wounded several civilians, including American citizens headed for San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Before that, municipal authorities in Miguel Aleman had warned of a growing displacement of residents of nearby towns due to drug violence in rural areas.