32 bodies and nine human HEADS found in Mexico as rival drug gangs carry out wave of extortions and kidnappings
Authorities said that "the discoveries are terrible"
SOLDIERS probing a deadly turf war between feuding drug gangs in Mexico have discovered 32 bodies and nine severed heads in a secluded village.
Authorities were investigating the area of Pochahuixco, part of the municipality of Zitlala, where kidnappings, murders and drug cartel turf wars are commonplace.
Officers began unearthing the bodies on Tuesday, with the two-day operation seeing them uncover 17 pits on a hill in the village.
Guerrero state security spokesman Roberto Alvarez said: "The discoveries are terrible."
Of the 32 bodies found, 31 were male and one was female.
The bodies, which were in varying states of decomposition, have now been taken to the state capital of Chilpancingo to be identified, and no arrests have been made.
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Soldiers are now scouring the area for more hidden graves.
The discovery took place in the state of Guerrero which has been plagued by a series of mass kidnappings, with 12 people abducted in the municipality of Ajuchitlan del Progreso just last week.
Guerrero is also known for the disappearance of 43 students in the city of Iguala in September 2014, a case that remains unsolved.
Authorities uncovered the 32 bodies after receiving an anonymous tip.
Upon arriving at the scene they found a kidnap victim as well as two cars, a motorcycle and bulletproof vests.
Soldiers and police also found four heads inside a cooler that could be linked to nine bodies that were found on a roadside in the town of Tixtla last week.
The Ardillos and Los Rojos drug gangs are fighting over territory in the Zitlala region, a security spokesman said.
He added: "There are a lot of murders, a lot of abductions.
"There are poppy fields in a large part of Guerrero and the price of poppies has increased at the international level."
