In brief: Drug cartel founder killed in shootout
MEXICO CITY – One of the military deserters who helped found the gang that grew into the brutal Zetas cartel was among six people killed during a gunbattle in a border town, a Tamaulipas state security official said Sunday.
The official said authorities confirmed that Galindo Mellado Cruz was one of five gunmen who died Friday in a shootout that also killed a Mexican soldier in Reynosa, which is across from McAllen, Texas. The official was not permitted to be quoted by name for security reasons.
Mellado Cruz was one of the 30 ex-special forces soldiers who created the Zetas gang to serve as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel before splitting off with its former ally. The official said Mellado Cruz no longer held a Zetas command position.
Samsung chairman suffers heart attack
SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun-hee was hospitalized in stable condition at a Seoul hospital Sunday after suffering a heart attack, the company said in a statement.
Lee, 72, was rushed to a hospital in central Seoul late Saturday after experiencing breathing problems and received CPR due to symptoms of a heart attack, company officials told officials told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
He was then rushed to Samsung Medical Center where he underwent a stent placement procedure early Sunday in which tubes were inserted into his body to widen blood vessels to prevent a heart attack.
A Samsung spokesperson said in a statement Sunday that Lee “is in stable condition and making a recovery” after being treated for a heart attack.
Suicide car bomber kills five civilians
KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide car bomber attacked an Afghan army vehicle Sunday in southern Afghanistan, killing five civilians and wounding 36, authorities said.
The blast also wounded four Afghan army soldiers in the Maywand district of Kandahar province, local government spokesman Dawkhan Menapal said.
Separately Sunday, NATO said one of its service members died as a result of a non-battle-related injury in the country’s north. The NATO force said the death occurred Sunday but gave no other details.