Narco gang gun battles kill 22 people in violent Ecuador port city of Guayaquil

Rival factions of an Ecuadoran drug trafficking gang fought Thursday in the violent port city of Guayaquil, leaving at least 22 people dead, officials said.

Another three people were wounded in a series of clashes in the city, the local police said in a statement as it increased an earlier toll of 12 dead.

A police source told AFP the gunfights involved opposing factions of a gang called Los Tigerones, one of the most powerful in this formerly peaceful country.