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85 Prisoners Escape Jail on Mexico-US Border


Eighty five prisoners have escaped from a Mexican jail near the U.S. border.

The prisoners escaped Friday from the facility in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Mexican officials are looking into the possible involvement of two missing prison guards and 44 other employees in the escape.

The incident follows a scandal in July, when authorities discovered that officials at another prison in the northern state of Durango had allowed convicts out of that facility to carry out revenge contract killings.

In a separate development, authorities say gunmen killed 25 people in drug gang attacks Thursday in Ciudad Juarez, marking the deadliest day in more than two years for the Mexican border city. Juarez is Mexico's most violent city and has been on the front lines of Mexican President Felipe Calderon's war on drug cartels.

President Calderon began his war on organized crime shortly after taking office in late 2006. Since then, drug violence has surged and more than 28,000 people have been killed.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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