The following is a news item taken from the Press TV website. Picture of crime scene to the left.

Press TV April 24, 2011 http://previous.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=176408&sectionid=351020705

Five female bodies, including one of a 14-year-old girl, were found brutally murdered in the Mexican beach resort in Acapulco on Saturday morning, Mexican police have said.

Two of the women and the teenager were found in a beauty salon with their hands and feet tied and throats cut in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Later, police discovered the other two bodies, one dumped in the street behind a church, and the other in a car. Both victims, who were employees of the salon, also had their throats slashed, according to Reuters.

All five victims were apparently linked to the beauty parlor. However, the motive for the killings is not yet clear.

Acapulco, known for its glamorous tourist attractions, has been hit by serious drug violence in recent months, as powerful cartels battle over smuggling routes.

The drug trade in Acapulco is controlled by La Familia Michoacana, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.

Last month, two boys — aged six and two — were killed when armed gunmen raced through their house in Acapulco trying to chase down another man.

Just days before the incident, an armed gang stormed into a nightclub and opened fire on those inside, killing 10.

Over 34,600 people have been killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a campaign against the country’s powerful gangs in 2006, in an operation which involved tens of thousands of federal troops.