Mexico violence: Six bodies found hanging from bridges near resort

The bodies were discovered along routes leading to international airports

The bodies of six men have been found hanging from three different bridges in a region of Mexico popular with foreign tourists, authorities say.

Police said the bodies were discovered on Wednesday above busy highways in Baja California Sur state.

Two bodies were retrieved from each location. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.

Such violence, which was once rare in Mexico's tourism hotspots, has been on the rise in recent years.

The bodies were found in the Los Cabos resort area along routes leading to international airports in La Paz, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, local prosecutors said.

The governor of the state of Baja California Sur, Carlos Mendoza Davis, said an investigation into the discoveries was under way.

"I condemn these acts and any expression of violence," he wrote on Twitter, adding: "Today more than ever [Baja California Sur] must be united to overcome this regrettable situation."

Between January and October, more than 400 people have been killed in violence in the area, AFP news agency reports.

While drug cartels in Mexico have previously hung the bodies of their murdered victims in public to intimidate rival gangs, the discovery of six bodies above major roads in the Los Cabos tourist region is unusual.

• A guide to Mexico's drug cartels

In August, gunmen killed three people and wounded two others on a popular beach in Baja California Sur state in an incident thought to be fuelled by the arrest of top drug cartel leaders.

More than 200,000 people have been killed or have disappeared since Mexico's government declared war on organised crime in December 2006.

The military offensive has led to the destruction of some drug gangs, splits within others and the emergence of new groups.