Bogota, July 9 (IANS/EFE) Seven members of a family, including two minors, were killed when gunmen attacked their vehicle in the northwestern Colombia, authorities said.

The assailants struck Wednesday afternoon in the province of Antioquia, firing on a group of 17 people returning from a funeral, a government official said Thursday.

The Antioquia provincial government attributed the massacre to an ongoing battle among drug gangs in the region.

Eight people were killed last Friday when gunmen fired indiscriminately at patrons in a discotheque in the suburbs of Medellin, the provincial capital.

Colombian authorities, including President Alvaro Uribe, blamed last week’s bloodbath on feuds between drug gangs seeking to control smuggling routes and territories.