http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=119035§ionid=351020705

Mexican authorities say a trailer loaded with 18 tons of industrial explosives has been stolen from a highway in northern Mexico.

State Attorney General Jesus Torres said on Friday that the material traveling to the Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas for use by the state oil company was stolen by unidentified gunmen on Thursday.

According to a police statement, the attackers stole the trailer with the load while the police found the truck cabin on the road linking the northern cities of Saltillo and Monterrey. But the driver and his assistant were missing, Nuevo Leon Public Security Minister Carlos Jauregui said.

The oil industry frequently uses blasts in exploration work. The explosives were reportedly being taken to the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, on the US border.

Mexican media reported that the truck cabin appeared to have been hit by several bullets.

Northern Mexico has been swept by wave of drug-related violence, but it also suffers from common crimes like hijacking of valuable commercial shipments.