72 bodies now found in mass graves: Mexico

NUEVO LAREDO: The number of bodies found dumped in mass graves in northeastern Mexico has risen to 72, after thirteen more corpses were uncovered by authorities, officials said Friday.

Morelos Jaime Canseco, a senior official in the Tamaulipas state government, told AFP that the graves were found late Thursday after a clash between soldiers and gunmen.

"In one grave nine bodies were found, and in the other four," Canseco said. Earlier this week 59 bodies were discovered in eight mass graves on a ranch in the farming village of La Joya, in northeast Tamaulipas state.

The two new gravesites were further away from the previous eight, outside of the village, but also in the San Fernando municipality, and could have been the result of separate killings, Canseco said.

All the victims were men, all were Mexican, and all had been killed recently, said Canseco. (AFP)