Gunmen attacked a police convoy in northern Mexico’s violence-plagued city of Matamoros on Saturday, sparking a clash that left five suspects and one officer dead.

Gunmen attacked a police convoy in northern Mexico's violence-plagued city of Matamoros on Saturday, sparking a clash that left five suspects and one officer dead.

The clash erupted after four carloads of armed civilians opened fire on Tamaulipas state and federal police in the city that borders Texas, authorities said.

Four of the suspects were killed inside a car, which struck a restaurant's metal gate, the Tamaulipas state government said in a statement.

A state police officer was wounded and later died in a hospital.

The other assailants were able to escape following a car chase, except for one who was gunned down.

Following the shootout, police chased a different group of criminals and two bystanders were wounded by bullets fired by the suspects, the government said. The injured civilians were out of danger.