MEXICO CITY (AP) — An explosion outside a local police station in the western Mexican state of Michoacan Saturday killed at least two people and wounded seven, local and federal security officials said.

The explosion came as the federal government has stepped up security activities in the state, sending in additional troops after two recent high-profile assassinations.

Hector Zepeda, commander of the Coahuayana community police, said Saturday the blast killed two of his police officers and that civilians were among the wounded. He said some of the victims were found far from the site of the explosion, which also damaged nearby buildings.

“With this operation (from the federal government) a lot of marines came,” Zepeda said. “We stopped doing patrols because the operation is going on.”

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