OJOCALIENTE, Mexico, Sept 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Mexico's powerful Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel likely orchestrated a car bomb attack on a police station in reprisal for the capture of one of its hitmen, authorities said Monday.

The blast in Ojocaliente, located in Zacatecas state, injured two police officers and eight civilians when it occurred overnight Sunday.

The attack was the third of its kind in less than a week in Zacatecas, where Mexico's two largest drug cartels have been vying for control of the strategically located state.

State prosecutor Cristian Camacho linked the incident to the arrest of an 18-year-old man who claimed to be a hitman for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel the previous day.

"We do not rule out that yesterday's attack was a reaction" to the arrest, Camacho told Formula Radio, adding that "everything indicates" that the cartel was responsible for the bomb.

A man had parked the explosives-laden car next to the station and had walked away with the engine still running, state government secretary Rodrigo Reyes told a press conference.

An officer "was about to inspect the vehicle, and just before leaving the station the explosive device was triggered," Reyes said.

The potent explosion damaged 17 buildings and 11 vehicles, authorities said, and led to the suspension of schools on Monday.

"My son... felt a hot wind and then felt the whole house shudder," a resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons told AFP.

At least six destroyed cars lined the cordoned-off street littered with rubble and glass, an AFP journalist observed.

Zacatecas is a key transit point for drugs making their way up into the United States, and the presence of trafficking groups has provoked extreme violence in the state.

In July, five bodies appeared hanging from a bridge in the town of Pozos de Gamboa, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Ojocaliente.

The killings drew the attention of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who promised to arrest whoever was behind them.