MEXICO CITY, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 24 people were killed on Thursday in Honduras in two armed attacks in the northern departments of Colon and Cortes.

The death toll includes 19 civilians killed in a shooting attack at a palm plantation and five National Police officers who died during a security operation, local media reported.

Yuri Mora, spokesperson for the Honduran Public Prosecutor's Office, said forensic teams were working in both regions to carry out autopsies and formally identify the bodies before handing them over to relatives.

In Trujillo, Colon, two teams have already identified 17 bodies, in addition to two more in coffins at their homes.

On the same day, five officers of the Anti-Gang Police Directorate were killed during an armed raid in the village of Corinto, Cortes, Mora added.

During the operation, there was apparently a fierce confrontation between criminals and police officers. The officers were overpowered and killed, according to the official report. ■