Seven suspected gunmen died in a shootout with soldiers in La Grulla, a town in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, over the weekend, officials said.

A 15-man army patrol was heading to the village of Arroyo Amplio when it was attacked in a remote area on Saturday, the Chihuahua Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

The assailants opened fire on the soldiers, who engaged them in a shootout, the AG's office said.

The dead gunmen were wearing bullet-proof vests and were armed with large-caliber rifles, the AG's office said.

The gunmen appear to be between the ages of 24 and 30, investigators said.