Decapitated body, 3 heads found in Mexico

13:12 AEST Tue Jul 19 2011

A decapitated body and three heads have been found on the outskirts of Mexico's northern city of Monterrey, authorities say, amid a surge in suspected drug violence in the area.

Local residents found two human heads and a blanket containing a body and another head by a road in the town of El Yerbaniz, some 25km from Monterrey, a spokesman for the Nuevo Leon state attorney-general's office said on Monday without elaborating.

More than 70 violent deaths were recorded in the past 10 days in Monterrey, including an attack on a bar which left 21 dead and the killing of five people in a public square in a suburb of Mexico's third city.

Growing violence in recent years has stripped the economic hub - home to many multinational companies - of its reputation as a safe haven.

Authorities blame a spillover of drug violence from neighbouring Tamaulipas state, where a turf war between the Gulf cartel and its former hitmen, the Zetas, has created a climate of fear.

More than 41,000 people have died in violence linked to Mexico's organised crime gangs since President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown on them in December 2006, according to media counts and official figures.

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