Six men have been found murdered in Mexico in two incidents that appear to reflect a recent surge in violence between rival drug gangs.
Four bullet-riddled and tortured bodies were found about about 300 metres from a military firing range near the city of Morelia in the central state of Michoacan on Saturday, according to local newspapers.
The victims had been killed in typical drug gang fashion with hands bound, blindfolded and gunshots to the head.
Two other murder victims turned up close to the US border in the state of Tamaulipas.
Their bodies, with hands tied and 45 bullet wounds between them, were found at the side of a freeway, police spokesman Eduardo Rodriguez said on Sunday.
"It appears to be a settling of scores between rival drug gangs," he said.
The gunmen who killed the two presumed crime gang members in Tamaulipas left a note with the bodies taunting Sinaloan drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and other gang bosses.
Increasing numbers of bullet-riddled bodies have been found in northern Mexico in recent months in what officials say is a battle for control of the illicit drug trade between cartels linked to Guzman and members of the so-called Gulf Cartel.
