Seven bodies found in abandoned vehicle in Mexico's south

OAXACA, Mexico: The bodies of seven people were found Sunday in an abandoned truck on a rural road in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca, local officials said.

Police from the town of Santo Domingo Zanatepec -- some 350 kilometers from the state's capital city Oaxaca -- made the discovery of the as of yet unidentified bodies, all of which showed bullet wounds, according to authorities.

At least 30 people have been killed in the region in recent days, local press reports say, likely because of rivalries between drug trafficking gangs.

Mexico has suffered a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking that has intensified in recent years

Authorities recorded 25,339 murders in 2017, the most violent year since official data-keeping began in 1997.

Since December 2006 -- when the government launched a controversial military anti-drug operation -- more than 200,000 murders have occurred, although official figures do not track how many cases are linked to organized crime.