Image copyright AFP Image caption The state attorney's office in Cancun was targeted in the attack

An attack on the government offices in the Mexican beach resort of Cancun has left four people dead, officials say.

Police intervened after gunmen opened fire at the Quintana Roo state attorneys' office. TV showed footage in which intense gunfire could be heard.

One policeman and three suspected attackers died, governor Carlos Joaquin said. Five suspects were arrested.

Mr Joaquin described the attack as a reaction by gangsters to his crackdown on organised crime.

It happened one day after a gunman killed five people in a club in the nearby resort city of Playa del Carmen.

In that incident, Mr Joaquim said the attacker and one of the victims, a man from Veracruz, had a "personal conflict". A Canadian, an Italian and a US citizen were among the dead.

It was not clear if the two attacks were related, officials said.

Gunfire erupted during the attack in Cancun on Tuesday, causing panic on the streets, witnesses said.

A shopping centre was evacuated by security forces after people described hearing gunfire inside. But officials later said it was a false alarm.

Security checkpoints were set up near Cancun's hotel area, some 7km (4 miles) from where the attack happened, local media reported.

The US consulate in Merida urged Americans to follow local authorities' warnings and consult with their hotels before leaving the premises.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Plaza de Las Americas shopping centre was evacuated but police said it was a false alarm

Image copyright AFP Image caption Streets were deserted in the evening in central Cancun after the attack

Federal forces would be sent to help the local authorities, the governor said, without giving details of how many gunmen were involved in the attack.

Speaking on television in the evening, Mr Joaquin added: "The state is under control and in order...People from Cancun and our visitors can go about their lives as normal."

Quintana Roo, an area popular with foreign tourists, has long been spared from the drug-related violence that afflicts other parts of Mexico.</s>MEXICO CITY—Gunmen attacked the state prosecutor’s office in the popular Caribbean resort city of Cancún on Tuesday, and officials said four people had been killed in a battle with security forces.

The attack, the second shooting in two days, raised fears that drug violence has invaded one of Mexico’s most important tourist areas after five people died in a shooting at another nearby resort town a day earlier.</s>At least four people have been killed after gunmen opened fire at government offices in the Mexican beach resort of Cancun.

It comes just a day after at least five people died in another shooting at a nearby music festival.

Rodolfo del Angel Campos, chief of police for the state of Quintana Roo, said gunfire broke out at the state attorney general's office in Cancun, a city that is one of the most popular seaside destinations for foreign tourists in Mexico.

Federal police and the armed forces were called to the scene, del Angel said.

One policeman and three suspected gunmen were killed, and a further five suspects arrested, state governor Carlos Joaquin told Mexican television on Tuesday evening.

"The state is under control and in order," Joaquin said, adding that he had arranged with the Interior Ministry to send federal forces to reinforce security.</s>Investigators are looking into a possible link between Monday’s shooting in Playa del Carmen and armed attacks yesterday in Cancún that left a police officer and three suspected criminals dead.

Government Secretary Francisco López Mena said in an interview this morning that organized crime was behind yesterday afternoon’s assault on the offices of the state Attorney General and the C4 security control center.

He claimed it was retaliation for the new state government’s crackdown on corruption.

Authorities declared a Code Red after a commando group described as heavily armed arrived on motorcycles at the offices of the Attorney General at about 4:00pm.

The attackers entered the building in the city’s downtown area and began shooting, killing Humberto Mora, a ministerial police officer. One of the perpetrators was killed as they left the building.

The gunfire created panic in the nearby Plaza las Palmas shopping center, where several businesses closed their doors.

There was more gunfire in the streets where traffic was paralyzed but minutes later more than 100 police officers arrived, reported Novedades Quintana Roo, which reported that the gunfire lasted for about 15 minutes.

More gunfire was heard shortly after at the Gran Plaza, where another criminal suspect was reportedly killed and at least two grenades detonated, and at the Plaza las Américas.

The Government Secretary said it was “very probable” that the attacks were a response to the government’s accusations of corruption against officials of the previous administration.

López said it was presumed that there was a link to the Playa del Carmen incident in which five people were killed and 15 wounded early Monday morning when a shooter entered the Blue Parrot bar and began firing at an individual inside.

López said none of Cancún’s tourism facilities nor tourists themselves were affected by yesterday’s gunfire and that conditions had returned to normal. The shootings took place some eight kilometers from the city’s hotel zone, where police implemented restrictions on access in response to the violence.

Five people have been arrested in connection with the shootings.

Governor Carlos Joaquín González said the attack on the Attorney General’s office came as a result of the government’s fight against impunity and corruption. He said the federal government had promised to send in Federal Police reinforcements to assist with security.

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At least four people are killed in a shootout between Mexican Police and unknown gunmen after the latter opened fire on the Quintana Roo state attorneys' office in Cancún.