Ciudad Juárez (AP) - Criminals killed at least 14 people in northern Mexico when they attempted to storm a prison.

Ten security guards and four inmates were killed when the attackers in armored vehicles drove up to the detention center in Ciudad Juárez on the border with the United States and opened fire, the Chihuahua state attorney general's office said. Thirteen other people were injured in yesterday's attack. According to media reports, the aim of the attack was to free prisoners. At least 24 prisoners managed to escape during the fighting.

Violence is common in Mexican prisons. Many of the often overcrowded prisons are controlled by criminal gangs. Shortly before the attack on the detention center, gunmen in Ciudad Juárez attacked several police officers, according to the Attorney General's Office. Four suspects were arrested and two others killed. With a homicide rate of 85 per 100,000 people, Ciudad Juárez is currently the fifth most dangerous city in the world.