(Recasts with army saying cocaine seized, no one killed)

MEXICO CITY, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Mexican soldiers seized at least 10 tons of cocaine after a gunbattle with drug smugglers at a northern port town on Friday, the army said.

The shootout happened during an anti-drugs operation in Tampico in Tamaulipas state, territory of the Gulf Cartel, one of the two most powerful Mexican drug gangs.

The army denied earlier government and media reports that up to 15 people had been killed in the shootout, but said at least 10 tons of cocaine had been seized from a tractor-trailer in the steamy Gulf of Mexico town.

"They attacked the troops with firearms, but the aggression was repelled without losses on either side," the Defense Ministry said in comments reported by the Mexican state news service.

President Felipe Calderon has deployed thousands of troops across Mexico to attack the dominant Gulf and Sinaloa cartels since taking office in December.

Among the offensive's recent successes, police last week arrested Sandra Avila, reputedly a top trafficker nicknamed the "Queen of the Pacific."

But more than 2,000 people have been killed this year in violence involving rival drug gangs and the government.

Seven men were arrested in Friday's raid after a tip-off led the soldiers to the traffickers, who were unloading bales of cocaine from the truck, the army said. The haul was being weighed and could be bigger than initially thought, it said.

Mexican newspapers reported on their Web sites that up to 15 people were killed in the fighting. A government official also said several people were killed.

Calderon, visiting Tamaulipas on Friday, spoke of his clampdown on the violent and wealthy gangs who smuggle huge amounts of cocaine, amphetamines and marijuana to the United States.

Last month a private jet with nearly 4 tons of cocaine aboard crashed into a southern Mexican jungle. Some reports say the army forced the plane to crash-land. (Additional reporting by Frank Jack Daniel)

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