Mexico City  - An attack by an armed commando left nine people dead and five injured at a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, police said Thursday.

The attack happened late Wednesday, while patients were attending a religious ceremony and the dead included the pastor, the authorities said.

Socorro Garcia, the pastor's wife, told the Mexican media that four masked attackers entered the centre and started shooting indiscriminately.

The attack brings 94 the number of people killed in violent incidents in August in Ciudad Juarez, in the state of Chihuahua on the border with the United States, local media said. For the year, the figure is as high as 787. (dpa)