The alert said recent clashes between authorities and drug cartels "have escalated to levels equivalent to military small-unit combat and have included use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades." "Confrontations have taken place in numerous towns and cities in northern Mexico, including Tijuana in the Mexican state of Baja California, and Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua. The situation in northern Mexico remains very fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements there cannot be predicted." The alert also said "armed robberies and carjackings, apparently unconnected to the narcotics-related violence, have increased in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. Full Article at The Orange County Register