Severed Human Body Parts Stacked In 26 Bags Found In Ravine In Mexico

Severed human body parts cached in at least 26 bags were found in a ravine near western Mexico, forensic officials from the state of Jalisco announced Thursday.

Authorities were trying to ascertain the exact count of bodies that were mutilated, as well as determine the origin of the remains.

Authorities found 14 bags of body parts Tuesday in the municipality of Tonala. They reexamined the place Wednesday to find 12 more, the state prosecutor’s office in Jalisco, said in a statement. The evidence was taken to the state forensic science institute.

Jalisco New Generation cartel, a Mexican criminal group based in Jalisco, has grown in size and strength in recent years. An increasing number of disappearances have been reported amid heightened violence in the area. Authorities, however, have not suggested who may be responsible, ABC News reported.

In late November, a band of henchmen allegedly belonging to a drug cartel stormed the small Mexican town of Villa Union in trucks and launched a bloody gun battle on government offices. At least 21 people were killed in the gunfight. Four of the dead were police, and the rest 14 belonged to the armed goons. Several local government employees were also reported missing in the aftermath of the conflict. The attack came weeks after several U.S.-Mexico dual citizens and their children were assassinated by gunmen while traveling between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua.