Locals from a town in east Mexico have stumbled upon twelve decapitated bodies, sparking a search for the victims' missing heads.
Eleven headless bodies, which also bore signs of torture, were found piled and covered in blankets in a suburb of the city of Merida.
One of the bodies was completely naked, while others were wearing denim clothing. Some of the victims had their legs tied.
A twelfth body, also missing its head, was found 70km northeast of Merida.
Jose Guzman, a Yucatan state prosecutor said townspeople found the bodies but the heads had not yet been found.
"We believe that the 12 executions were an isolated incident and not part of a strategy to destabilise the state," Guzman told reporters.
Merida had remained largely untouched by the drug war that has lead to the deaths of more than 2,600 in Mexico this year, according to a Mexican public security official.
Only four drug related murders had been reported in Yucatan state, where Merida is located, according to the El Universal newspaper.
Mexican authorities say decapitated bodies have also been found in northern and southern Mexico, the result of revenge killings between rival drug cartels.
