Decapitated bodies found in Acapulco

The bodies of15 young men, 14 of them headless, were found Saturday outside a shopping centre in the Mexican resort of Acapulco, police said.

Police believe the victims, all appearing to be in their 20s, were killed and their bodies stuffed into five vehicles by drug cartel members.

Investigators say handwritten signs were left with the bodies, a common calling card for the country's cartels.

This was the largest single group of decapitation victims since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against cartels more than four years ago.

In 2008, 12 decapitated bodies were piled outside the Yucatan state capital of Merida. The same year,nine headless bodies were found in the Guerrero state capital of Chilpancingo.

Turf battles in the drug cartel war are blamed for at least 30,196 deaths in Mexico since late 2006.