There is something suspicious about the numbers of people who reportedly died in the battle with police yesterday.

So far, the Sonoran government has tallied 22 dead, including the five Cananea and Cuitaca police officers and two civilians.

But I'm finding it hard to believe that nobody from the State Investigative Police or the Army was injured or died in the storming of the commando hideout.

That took place just north of Arizpe, 65 miles south of Cananea yesterday.

It's a mountainous area in the Sierra Madre with deep valleys and low-rising hills mixed into tall desert mountains. Frankly, it's gorgeous terrain in normal times.

And the killers knew what they were doing.

Thirteen of their vehicles have been seized, including an armored Dodge Nitro, a Ford F250 and at least one Hummer.

Judging from the number of bullets the Ford took, it was not armored. (I'm sorry to say I don't have photos of the shot-up truck; the judiciales threatened to confiscate my camera unless I deleted those images. I love running this Web site but I am not spending a night in a Mexican jail without a boss to bail me out.)

Inside those vehicles, police found more than 100 rifles, hand grenades and laptop computers.

This attack was heavily planned right from the beginning. We now know that the convoy started in Caborca, south of the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation and made its way along Highway 2 until it reached Cananea.

They likely armed up in Caborca to avoid the military checkpoint in Benjamin Hill.

But there is a Mexican Customs checkpoint along the Cananea-Arizpe stretch of highway; I don't know yet why nobody there bothered to call the convoy in.

But, we're talking anywhere from 22 to 50 gunmen, maybe more; fighting for their lives, heavily equipped and obviously skilled enough to carry out an elaborate attack on an entire city.

Still no reported casualties on the side of the government.

I talked to two sources so far who separately confirmed that four judiciales and one soldier died in the Arizpe battle.

They could be wrong - or we'll hear about in a week when this has all blown over.