Gunmen kill seven in Acapulco

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Gunmen disguised as soldiers killed seven people at two police stations in the troubled Mexican resort of Acapulco on Tuesday, despite a military crackdown against violent drug gangs.

The state prosecutor's office said men dressed in khaki uniforms and wearing red berets tricked their way into the stations by posing as soldiers on a visit to check police weapons.

Accompanied by men filming the attacks, the group opened fire with assault rifles at one station, killing three policemen.

At the second station, the attackers stripped several agents of their guns and started shooting, killing a secretary, two police officers and a public prosecutor.

"They pretended to check police guns. That's how they disarmed the guys and once they were disarmed, took their lives," a spokesman at the prosecutors office said.

President Felipe Calderon called an emergency meeting with his security cabinet to discuss the attacks.

Calderon, who took office on December 1, has sent thousands of troops to violent regions of Mexico to tackle drug gangs who killed 2,000 people in a feud last year.

As part of the clampdown, soldiers have been investigating local police forces for connections with the drug cartels. In the rowdy border city of Tijuana, just south of San Diego, the army confiscated all the city police's guns.

Last month, almost 8,000 troops and federal police were sent to the region around Acapulco to crack down on rival gangs fighting for control of lucrative drug plantations and smuggling routes.

Despite the crackdown, there were 190 drug gang-related deaths in Mexico in January, just a handful less than a year ago.

Acapulco rose to fame in the 1950s as a Pacific hangout for Hollywood stars like actor Errol Flynn.

Once a small fishing village, it is now a major city experiencing a grisly crime wave. Just last weekend, a man's chopped-up body was discovered dumped in plastic garbage bags in the city.

Long forgotten by the A-list, the resort is still popular with U.S. "spring break" student vacationers and Mexican tourists.