Gunfire erupts in Ecuador’s port city, 5 dead  

Massive gunfire and a subsequent explosion have left at least five people dead and 15 injured with several missing in the Ecuadoran port city of Guayaquil. 

Officials blame the attack on organised crime. 

Eight houses and two cars were destroyed in the blast. 

The Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said “organised-crime mercenaries,” long involved in drug traffic were “now attacking with explosives.” 

The country’s prosecutor’s office said its agents are now attempting to establish the cause and motive for the attack. 

Guayaquil has become familiar with frequent shootings and killings by members of rival gangs believed to have links to national and international drug trafficking. 

Dozens were killed last year in massacres inside the largest state prison in the city.