MORELIA, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican authorities on Sunday said at least five people died and three more were injured after a car exploded near a police station in the restive western state of Michoacan.

The explosion took place shortly before noon local time on Saturday in front of the police headquarters in the coastal city of Coahuayana, according to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, which has taken over investigation of the case.

The state prosecutor’s office raised the initial toll from three fatal victims to five, adding that three of them were local police officers.

Several drug trafficking groups operate in Michoacan, including the New Michoacan Family and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), both of which the US government has designated as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

The killing of Uruapan mayor Carlos Manzo in Michoacan sparked two days of youth-led demonstrations in November, with protesters setting fire to public buildings and clashing with police, resulting in over 100 injuries.

Manzo, 40, had gained popularity as a crusader against organized crime and campaigned on fighting Mexico’s notorious drug cartels.

Car bombs are uncommon in Mexico, though a car bomb attack in October injured three people in neighboring Guanajuato state.