Two marines and a criminal suspect were killed in a shootout in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, the homeland of fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, authorities said.

The troops were on patrol in the village of El Ebano on Monday night when they were "attacked by gunfire from suspected members of organized crime," the navy said in a statement released Tuesday.

After the shooting, the marines seized a vehicle, a gun, cartridges and 50 doses of crystal meth. The criminal group was not identified.

It was the second clash between marines and gang suspects in the region in less than a week. Last Friday, two suspects died in a gun battle with troops in the municipality of Badiraguato, Guzman's hometown.

The marines have launched operations in the Sinaloa-Durango state border region since the Sinaloa drug cartel boss staged a brazen prison break on July 11.

Authorities believe Guzman injured a leg and his face by falling while he escaped a raid in October, but there have been no reports of his whereabouts since then.