12 People Killed in Mexico

October 5, 2011

Police in Mexico's Guerrero state say they have found seven bullet-riddled bodies in the resort town of Zihuatenejo.

Guerrero state police say the victims were found Sunday.

A local newspaper has published a photograph of the bodies, showing messages lying near the half-naked and bloodied victims whose feet were tied to a street pole. The messages claimed to be from the Knights Templar, an offshoot of the La Familia drug gang.

Elsewhere in Mexico Sunday, gunmen opened fire on a vehicle in Mazatlan, in Sinaloa state, killing three men and two women. Sinaloa is home to El Chapo's People, a drug cartel headed by one of Mexico's most wanted men, Joaquin Guzman.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon began a crackdown on illegal drug activity in 2006. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the resulting Mexican drug wars.