As Mexican drug cartels continue to fight over lucrative drug trafficking routes, an official confirmed Thursday that six male bodies were discovered hanging off a bridge in the city of Zacatecas in Mexico.

According to Reuters, a source at the local prosecutor's office said the half-naked bodies were discovered early morning. The source requested anonymity because he was not allowed to disclose the information to the public. Some newspapers in Mexico also reported the horrible find.

Turf and Route Wars of Mexican Drug Cartels

The city of Zacatecas, which is the capital of the state with a similar name, has been heavily damaged by the intense violence between rival Mexican drug cartels.

The Sinaloa Cartel and its biggest rival, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, battled over key trafficking routes in recent months.

Last month, 11 bodies were also found hanging under bridges in Zacatecas state. Some of the incidents were accompanied by threatening messages.

Some bodies were dumped in the municipalities of Valparaiso and Fresnillo that have also seen crime rates spike in the past weeks.

The official figures showed that in the first six months of the year to June, at least 536 individuals being killed in Zacatecas state, which was a 57 percent rise on the same period last year.

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2 Men Crucified in Mexico's Zacatecas

Two bodies were found separately hanging from trees in Fresnillo and Valparaiso on June 29. The next day, authorities discovered nine more bodies, all with torture marks, in Zacatecas state.

The two bodies were discovered in plastic bags in Fresnillo, while four were found wrapped in blankets in Zacatecas city. The other three bodies were located in Morelos municipality.

The killings were believed to be linked to the territorial dispute between two Mexican drug cartels - the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel.

On June 19, three bodies were found hanging from a bridge in Fresnillo. The municipal mayor of Fresnillo noted that after discovering the bodies of two slain police officers in an overpass in Zacatecas city, seven other individuals were massacred by gunfire in a Fresnillo home the same day.

Another gunfight between the Jalisco Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel in the municipality of Valparaiso left at least 18 people dead on June 23. Local media reports placed the death toll as high as 35 after further investigation.

Alejandro Tello, the governor of the northern state of Zacatecas, wrote to Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in February that the state, located between the Pacific coast ports and Mexico's northeastern border with the United States, made the region a drug trafficking nexus. 

The Zacatecas governor sought support from the federal government after the security forces of the state and municipalities were outnumbered and outgunned by the rival Mexican drug cartels.

Tello said that "with opposing organized crime groups as the protagonists, the fierce fight for the control of territory has placed our state in a grave security crisis."

READ MORE: 2 Men Found 'Crucified' in Mexico as Jalisco Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel's Bloody Turf War Goes On

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Written by: Jess Smith

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