U.S. vows FBI help after Mexico killings

The State Department on Sunday authorized the departure of dependents of U.S. government personnel from consulates in Ciudad Juarez and five other northern border cities.

Crowley said the United States would review security at its diplomatic facilities all along the border and work with Mexico to determine whether further steps were needed to protect them.

Nearly 19,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon came to power in Mexico in late 2006 and launched a military assault on the drug cartels, leading to even more violence.

Most victims are rival traffickers and police and, to a lesser extent, soldiers, local officials and bystanders. It is rare for drug gang hitmen to target foreigners.

The United States has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to Mexico to help with the anti-drug fight, which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year acknowledged was fuelled at least in part by U.S. demand for illegal drugs.

(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by John O'Callaghan)