At least 14 people were killed during a shoot out between armed gangs in northern Mexico.

Axar.az reports citing Sky News.

Chihuahua state prosecutors' office said the gunbattle involved members of the La Linea gang and a faction of the Sinaloa cartel.

Initial reports said 26 people were dead, but so far only 14 bodies have been recovered.

Chihuahua prosectors' spokesman Felix Gonzalez said some of those who were thought to have died were in fact wounded.

But, he said, it was possible the death toll could rise.

He said the battle occurred early on Wednesday in the town of Las Varas, at a remote site known for the growing of marijuana and opium poppies.

Another prosecutors' spokesman Eduardo Esparza said police and soldiers came under fire when they arrived at the scene but they managed to take three suspected gunmen into custody.

Twenty rifles were found at the scene, he said.

Mr Esparza claimed that gunmen from both groups were responsible for the killing of two state police officers about 10 days earlier.