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CUERNAVACA, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican security forces have shot dead top drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva in the biggest strike yet for President Felipe Calderon's drug war, but one which could trigger fresh bloodshed.

Beltran Leyva, a cartel chief dubbed "The Boss of Bosses," was felled in a spray of bullets on Wednesday night by elite navy troops at a luxury apartment complex in Cuernavaca, a fashionable weekend getaway city for Mexico City residents.

One of the country's most-wanted traffickers, his death, along with five of his bodyguards, is a major coup for the government at the end of a year when drug violence has exploded to unprecedented levels and cartel arrests have flagged.

Yet analysts cautioned it could fan new violence as the Beltran Leyva cartel regroups and strikes back at security forces and whoever it believes tipped them off. Other gangs may clash as they try to muscle in on Beltran Leyva territory.

"Any time you take out one of these apex leaders it is a big victory, but it is also in some ways a double-sided victory because it leads to more violence," said Scott Stewart of the Stratfor security consultancy.

Calderon, in Copenhagen for climate change talks, called the strike a big win for Mexico and praised the investigative work behind it. "Intelligence is an effective and powerful weapon in the fight against organized crime," he said.

Mexico's elite naval troops tend to be used when the government has strong intelligence on high-value targets. The police and army are seen as more prone to leaking operational information than the small naval force.

One navy special forces soldier died of wounds from a grenade thrown at troops in Wednesday's raid

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