ANDRÉS VILLARREAL and MARÍA VERZA
Associated Press
CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — Mexican security forces backed off an attempt to capture a son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman after finding themselves outgunned in a ferocious shootout with cartel enforcers that left at least eight people dead and more than 20 wounded, authorities said Friday.
The gunbattle Thursday paralyzed the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state and left the streets littered with burning vehicles.
Five attackers, a member of the National Guard, a civilian and a prisoner were killed, Mexican Defense Secretary Luís Cresencio Sandoval said.
Sinaloa Public Security Secretary Cristóbal Castañeda said earlier that 21 people were wounded and that 27 inmates escaped from a prison.
Sandoval said the forces
