6 dismembered bodies dumped along Mexican road

CUERNAVACA, Mexico—Police found six dismembered bodies in plastic bags on a road in central Mexico, authorities said Wednesday.

The prosecutor of Morelos state, which neighbors Mexico City, said the killings were likely due to a dispute between criminal gangs in the area.

Pedro Luis Benitez said in a statement that the remains were found on a road between the resort city of Cuernavaca and Cuautla, both in Morelos.

Local police, declining to be named, said residents alerted them to the remains and that a message lay nearby with apparent threats from the cult-like La Familia drug gang, based in western Michoacan state.

Forensic investigators were seeking to identify the bodies.

Some 50,000 people have died in suspected drug violence since President Felipe Calderon began a military crackdown on organized crime in December 2006, according to media counts and official figures.