MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Nine men's heads were found in plastic bags in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, apparent victims of the country's brutal drug war, officials said.
A forensic spokesman said that seven of those killed were soldiers, one was a lawyer and the other victim had not been identified.
Residents of the town of Chilpancingo found the heads before dawn, and some three hours later located the bodies elsewhere, local police said in a statement.
"Nine heads were found between 3:00 am and 4:00 am (0900 and 1000 GMT) in plastic bags, and the bodies were found about three hours later in various parts of the city," read the police statement.
"Three of the beheaded bodies were found about five kilometers (two miles) away and the other six were nearby," said the police report, adding that the victims' corpses showed signs of torture.
A local official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the heads were found near a shopping center, and police discovered a message nearby containing an apparent reference to the country's violent drug trade.
"For each one of us they kill, we will kill 10 of them," it said, calling the victims "sons of bitches."
Guerrero is one of the states where feuding drug cartels have engaged in a brutal battle for dominance. In the past two years, decapitated victims were recovered here at least three times. Two of those killed were federal police.
More than 5,300 people have been killed this year across the country in a wave of drug-related attacks, despite a government clampdown on cartels involving the deployment of 36,000 troops across the country.
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