Mexico City, September 17 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Armed civilians suspected of being drug traffickers clashed violently with members of a rural defense force with a death toll of seven and two others injured in a municipality of the embattled state of Michoacan, Mexico, local officials reported.  The incident occurred in the municipality of Lazaro Cardenas.

One of the persons that died in the shootout was identified as the local leader of the drug cartel Los Caballeros Templarios or Knights Templar, who are accused of trafficking cocaine, marijuana and heroin, as well as engaging in kidnapping and extortion, Mexican news agency Quadratin said.

The mayor of Lazaro Cardenas, Armando Carrillo, told Quadratin that military personnel arrived to Los Llanitos del Bejuco, where the shootout took place.  The mayor dissipated rumors that the self-defense forces were being unarmed by the military.

The states prosecutor's office has taken in six persons for questioning regarding the incident, Quadratin added.

It is still unclear whether all the casualties are drug members, as some local news reports say that various of the people dead were self-defense members.