Mexico: 14 dismembered bodies found outside city hall

(CNN)?-- Authorities found the mutilated remains of 14 people inside a truck parked in front of a city government office in northern Mexico Thursday, according to the Attorney General of the State of Tamaulipas.

The bodies were found in the town of El Mante, Tamaulipas.

Investigators went to the scene near city hall and saw the bodies, which were 11 men and 3 women, authorities said.

Federal forces have stepped up security in Tamaulipas and the neighboring state of Nuevo Leon since November 2010. The states are among Mexico's most violent, according to government statistics.

Turf battles between the rival cartels have become common in northern Mexico.

Last month, Mexico's interior minister said the Zetas drug cartel and members of the allied Gulf and Sinaloa cartels were in a fierce feud in the region. He blamed the battle between rival cartels for the 49 decapitated and dismembered bodies left along a highway in the northern city of Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon.

More than 47,500 people have died in drug-related violence throughout the country since December 2006, when Calderon announced plans to deploy troops in efforts to combat cartels.

CNN.com

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