MEXICO CITY, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two policemen and three civilians were shot dead in Rosarito city, Mexico's Baja California state that borders the United States, local authorities said Thursday.

    Police believed the killings were revenge acts by drug traffickers.

    Two local police officers, Juan Francisco Gomez and Arturo Granillo Cordoba, were on patrol earlier Monday when a vehicle pulled up to them and armed men aboard shot them dead, a spokesman for the city government said at a press conference.

    Another two men and a woman were found dead in their car in the city's Primo Tapia community, seemingly shot by similar arms of high caliber, according to the spokesman.

    Statistics published by local media showed more than 3800 drug-related killings had been registered since January, mostly due to armed conflicts among drug cartels.