Prosecutors in southern Mexico said Monday they found the bodies of five men in a village north of the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.

Prosecutors in southern Guerrero state did not give details on the killings, but local media reported the bodies had been hacked up and left in plastic bags.

And in another town just north of the resort, prosecutors said Monday that two more men had been killed. The town of Xaltianguis has been fought over by rival gangs of vigilantes, some of them believed to have drug cartel ties.

In 2019, a heavily armed vigilante force took over Xaltianguis by driving out a rival band, blowing up a car with gas cylinders inside and cutting up the body of one of two fallen foes.

Acapulco's reputation has suffered for years under a wave of violent crime.

Last month, eight people were killed in the resort town, including five men who were gunned down in a bar. Last summer, the leader of the guild of restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Acapulco was shot dead. Last April, at least three people were killed in a shooting and a subsequent chase by police officers at a beachside restaurant in Acapulco.

No longer popular among international tourists, Acapulco remains a main get-away for Mexico City residents.

Mexico, hit by a spiral of violence linked to organized crime, has registered more than 340,000 violent deaths since December 2006, when a controversial military anti-drug operation was launched.