CIUDAD JUAREZ: Twelve people died, including a housewife, in suspected drug attacks in the past 24 hours in the northern Mexico border state of Chihuahua, the local prosecutor''s office said Monday.

Border areas where rival drug cartels are battling over key routes into the United States are among the worst hit in escalating violence across Mexico this year in which almost 3,500 have died, and civilians are increasingly involved.

A 30-year-old housewife was shot dead in central Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, the prosecutor''s office said.

Another five men died in separate attacks in the border city with the worst record in the country of more than 1,000 deaths in suspected drug attacks so far this year.

Attacks have increased despite a government crackdown on drug-related violence, initiated by President Felipe Calderon almost two years ago, including the deployment of 36,000 troops across the country.