Six more hanged bodies found in violence-plagued Mexican state

The bodies of six people were found hanged from a bridge and a tree on Tuesday in a region of central Mexico ravaged by criminal gang violence, the second such incident in the area in less than a week, authorities said.

Three of the victims were hanged from an overpass and three others from a tree, according to a statement by the Secretary of Public Security of Zacatecas state said. Another two bodies were found on the ground of a property in a nearby community.

The killings followed the discovery of 10 bodies in Zacatecas on Nov. 18, nine of them hanging from a bridge, in apparent gang-related killings.

The recent uptick in deadly violence is a result of disputes between two criminal groups fighting for control of drug trafficking in the area, according to a state government official who declined to be identified.

At least 948 people were killed by violence in Zacatecas in the first 10 months of this year, according to official data, some 342 more than in the same period a year earlier.