At least eight suspected members of the Los Mazatlecos gang were killed in a shootout with Marines in Sinaloa, Mexico Saturday morning, according to police.

The shootout, which occurred Saturday morning in El Garbanzo outside the city of Sinaloa de Leyva, was a result of an operation that was launched by Mexican authorities last week to target the organization.

A number of assault rifles, weapons, and SUVs were seized during the shootout.

Sinaloa has been overrun with cartel-related violence in recent years, due in part to the uprising of the Sinaloa cartel. The group has quickly become one of the most violent and deadly cartels in Mexico.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to a funeral home in Los Mochis, where investigators will try to identify them, according to a police investigator.

This is not the first run-in with Mexican authorities that the group has seen in recent months. The Sinaloa cartel leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was captured by Marines in Mazatlan in late February.

In the months following El Chapo's arrest, police have seen a rise in cartel-related violence, which they attribute to a turf war between warring cartels and the change in power structures. among rival factions.