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Nine members of a Mormon family - three mums and six children - were killed in a massacre in Mexico when they were attacked by suspected drug cartel gunmen.

Seventeen members of the prominent Lebaron Mormon community were apparently travelling to a wedding in a convoy of SUVs when they were "ambushed" about 70 miles south of the US border.

Local media said the family may have been mistaken for a rival cartel, while Donald Trump claimed the victims were caught in the crossfire of a gun battle and urged Mexico to "wage war" on the gangs.

Mum Rhonita Maria LeBaron, 33, was "slaughtered" along with her six-month-old twin babies, Titus and Tiana, and two other children - Crystal, eight, and Howard, 10 - and the others were allegedly taken hostage eight miles up the road.

Relatives feared Rhonita and her children were alive and trapped when their bullet-riddled SUV was allegedly set on fire and exploded.

Another mum, Christina Johnson, 31, is said to have saved her seven-month-old baby girl, Faith, as she was shot dead.

The other three who died were named as mum Dawna Langford and two of her children - three-year-old Rogan and 11-year-old Trevor.

Seven children who were in her car survived, including a teenage son who ran for miles to get help, a seven-year-old boy who was shot in the face, and a 10-month-old baby who was grazed by at least one bullet.

One of the mums was shot at point-blank range in the chest when she got out of her car and put her hands up to surrender, and a nine-year-old girl that survived was shot in the back as she ran away, it is claimed.

The victims - dual American-Mexican citizens with ties to Utah - belonged to the LeBaron family from a breakaway Mormon community that settled in northern Mexico decades ago.

The Mormons are well-known in the region and have had previous run-ins with criminals while speaking out about organised crime, but a member says there were no recent threats or warnings.

Local media said the convoy could have been mistaken for that of a rival cartel.

Relative and local anti-crime activist Julian LeBaron was left distraught after visiting the scene, just a few miles from the Mormon settlement, and seeing the charred bodies inside the burned-out SUV on Monday.

He said the victims were innocent and were caught up in a war involving rival drug cartels, suggesting it was a case of mistaken identity.

He told Milenio TV: "This was a mistake. We do not know why.

"They are innocent women and children. They were going to see relatives. It is terrible."

The massacre happened as the family members travelled in three SUVs from Bavispe, in the state of Sonora, to the Mormon community of LaBaron, in the neighbouring state of Chihuahua, it was reported.

Some family members said the victims were on their way to a wedding, while Julian LeBaron told the New York Times that his cousin Rhonita was heading to Phoenix, Arizona, to pick up her husband, who works in North Dakota and was returning home to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Rhonita's car broke down and the gunmen “opened fire on Rhonita and torched her car", he added.

He said one of the women got out of her car and put up her hands, but "they shot her point blank in the chest".

There were no recent threats against the family, he added.

Grief-stricken relative Leah Staddon, who grew up in the Mormon community, said the three mothers and children were travelling in three vehicles to a wedding.

She said her nephew's wife, Rhonita, and four of the woman's children - twin babies Tiana and Titus, and older siblings Crystal and Howard - died when their vehicle was attacked.

Ms Staddon, who lives in Queen Creek, Arizona, said her brother found the bullet-riddled vehicle still smouldering with the mum and children's charred bodies inside and he recorded video as evidence.

Ms Staddon said her sister-in-law Dawna Langford, 43, and cousin Christina Johnson (also known as Christina Langford ), 31, were travelling in separate SUVs and were also killed.

She told the Arizona Republic newspaper: "It's devastating. It's incomprehensible, the evil. I don’t understand how someone could do that."

Ms Langford was travelling in a second vehicle with nine children, she said.

After gunmen killed Ms Langford and two of her kids - Trevor, 11, and Rogan, three - they opened a door and saw more children inside and let them go, said Ms Staddon.

Ms Johnson was travelling in a third car with her seven-month-old daughter, Faith, who was found alive in the back of the vehicle.

(Image: Facebook)

The mum was hailed a hero in the aftermath, with family members saying she saved Faith, who was "thrown on the floor".

Ms Langford's 13-year-old son hid the younger children - some of whom were wounded and bleeding - under a tree or in bushes and then ran about five miles to the family's ranch to raise the alarm after his mum and some of his siblings were murdered, according to family.

Ms Staddon pleaded for help from US authorities, writing in a Facebook post: "They are doing all they can in Mexico and we need America’s help.

"Please help get the word out.

"We need to get them all back home safe also do not travel to Mexico!

"The mafia over Sonora and the mafia over chihuahua are in all out war right now!!!"

US President Donald Trump said the victims were caught in the crossfire as warring drug cartels shot at each other.

He said now is the time for Mexico and the US to "wage war" on cartels.

He tweeted: "A wonderful family and friends from Utah got caught between two vicious drug cartels, who were shooting at each other, with the result being many great American people killed, including young children, and some missing. If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these.....

"....monsters, the United States stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively. The great new President of Mexico has made this a big issue, but the cartels have become so large and powerful that you sometimes need an army to defeat an army!

"This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!"

The FBI has opened an investigation, according to the family.

The surviving children were taken to hospital. Family members posted photos showing an injured girl wearing blood-stained jeans, and injured boys in their hospital beds.

Kenny LeBaron, a cousin of the mums who was killed, told the New York Times: “When you know there are babies tied in a car seat that are burning because of some twisted evil that’s in this world. It’s just hard to cope with that.”

Heavily-armed soldiers and national police officers were deployed to secure the area and hunt for the gunmen.

Initially, there were conflicting reports about the number of dead and the number of relatives who were abducted and missing.

El Universal, a national newspaper in Mexico, said 12 members of the family were killed in the attack, but family members and Mexican officials later said nine were dead.

Julian LeBaron shared a post on Facebook identifying one of the victims as Rhonita Maria LeBaron, also known as Rhonita Miller.

The post said she died with her twin babies - a boy and a girl - and two other children aged eight and 10.

Family members said Ms Langford and Ms Johnson and their children were missing when the charred vehicle was discovered, but they were later found.

Lafe Langford Jnr, another relative, wrote on Facebook: “It is with heavy hearts and unspeakable sadness we inform you that the 2 missing Mothers… along with many of their precious INNOCENT children have been slaughtered and gone to their Rest.

“We need this to be shared and the whole world to witness the atrocious inhumane and barbaric acts that were committed against us today.

(Image: Facebook)

He told the Salt Lake Tribune that the victims got caught in the crossfire of two cartels.

He said one of the mum called a relative, who heard a woman screaming and other loud male voices in the background, before she was killed.

Relative Nefi LeBaron wrote: "They were ambushed.

"All 3 families were driving together in a caravan through Northern Mexico. We assume that they got in a mafia cross fire.

"The families are thinking that the mafia mistook Rhonita’s vehicle for a rivals, then proceeded to attack.

"They eventually realized they killed an innocent family.

"To cover their tracks they burnt the vehicle with all of the passengers inside.

(Image: Google Maps)

"Then took all the other woman and children hostage."

The LeBarons are an offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who live in the northern state of Sonora.

The Mormon community has had previous run-ins with cartels and criminals in the mountainous region, and members have been murdered in the past.

In 2009, Julian LeBaron's brother, Benjamin, a dual US-Mexico citizen and anti-crime activist, and his brother-in-law were murdered in Chihuahua after condemning criminals who had kidnapped a relative, Erick LeBaron, for ransom.

The governments of Chihuahua and Sonora states, both of which border the United States, said an investigation had been launched into Monday's massacre near Rancho La Mora, the Mormon community's decades-old settlement in Bavispe.

US Ambassador Christopher Landau, who had traveled to Sonora earlier in the day on a prearranged visit, said he was following the situation "very closely".

He wrote on Twitter: "The security of our nationals is our top priority."

Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich, who welcomes the ambassador to the state, called the killers "cowards" and vowed that they would be caught and punished.

She tweeted: "I don't know what kind of monsters dare to hurt women and children."