A gun battle left four police officers and nine suspected gang members dead in Mexico's western state of Jalisco, authorities said Thursday.

The clash happened on Wednesday night at a house in El Salto on the outskirts of the city of Guadalajara and, according to witnesses, lasted for more than an hour.

Two people being held captive inside the building were rescued following a tip-off that gunmen had been seen taking gagged people into the house, prosecutor Luis Mendez Ruiz told reporters.

Several people were arrested, and weapons and ammunition were seized.