The number of murders in Mexico linked to organised crime has jumped by almost 50% so far this year to 1,378, according to Mexico's attorney general.
Eduardo Medina Mora also said more than 4,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon took office 18 months ago, declaring war on the drug cartels.
About 450 of those were police, soldiers, or prosecutors.
It comes as police in northern Mexico found four severed heads in ice-chests outside a motorway convenience store.
Five bodies - some decapitated - were also discovered in a city on the border with the US state of Texas.
Mexico drug-related killings soar
The number of murders in Mexico linked to organised crime has jumped by almost 50% so far this year to 1,378, according to Mexico's attorney general.
Eduardo Medina Mora also said more than 4,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon took office 18 months ago, declaring war on the drug cartels.
About 450 of those were police, soldiers, or prosecutors.
It comes as police in northern Mexico found four severed heads in ice-chests outside a motorway convenience store.
Five bodies - some decapitated - were also discovered in a city on the border with the US state of Texas.
