8 killed in western Mexico cartel battleground

MEXICO CITY – Eight bullet-ridden, mutilated bodies have been found in a western Mexico township where drug cartels have been waging tenacious turf battles.

The prosecutors office in Michoacán state said late Thursday that the eight bodies, all men, were found in the township of Aguililla.

Prosecutors did not say how the bodies were mutilated, but local media reported they had been decapitated.

The area has been the scene of numerous battles between the Jalisco cartel and the so-called United Cartels, formerly known as the Viagras gang.

The office said the bodies had been taken for autopsy and identification.