The head of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drug cartel was killed in an army raid Thursday, the military confirmed.

Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, the country's most wanted drug lord, was shot dead after he resisted arrest and opened fired on soldiers in the western Zapopan city of Jalisco state, Edgar Ruiz Villegas, assistant chief of the defense ministry, told a press conference.

Coronel "tried to avoid the authorities and attacked one soldier with a fire gun, killing him and injuring one more," he said.

The confirmation followed previous erroneous news reports that the drug lord was in custody.

Ruiz said Coronel was killed Thursday noon. More than 150 troops took part in the operation, during which ten other men were also detained.

The operation has strongly impaired Coronel's drug cartel, he added.

As one of the most wanted drug dealers in both Mexico and the United States, Coronel was believed to be responsible for producing the bulk of methamphetamine that flows from Mexico into the U.S. market.

He has been charged with organized crime and drug trafficking in Mexico and the U.S. government has request his extradition.

Coronel's death handed a much-awaited victory to Mexico's anti-drug war initiated by President Felipe Calderon in 2006. More than 26,000 Mexicans have died in drug-related violence since then.