Mexican forces unearth 17 more bodies; toll at 218

MEXICO CITY – Mexican security forces said Saturday they have discovered another 17 bodies in mass graves found last month in the northern state of Durango.

The discovery brings the number of bodies recently unearthed in Durango to 218. That total eclipses the 183 bodies found in pits last month in Tamaulipas.

Durango's security agency said on Saturday that the excavation also turned up a bag of bones.

State investigators have not speculated on a motive for the killings, but drug cartels have been blamed for mass graves found in other states. Durango authorities say some of the victims have been dead for up to four years while others were buried as recently as three months ago.

Separately, Durango state security authorities said Sunday they found nine bodies dead on the street in the state capital, Durango.

The Sinaloa, Zetas and Beltran Leyva cartels have been fighting for control in Durango.

Also Saturday, a clash between gunmen and police in the popular Pacific coast beach town of Zihuatenejo left at least 13 people dead, including four members of the security forces and nine gunmen. The state security agency said the gunmen attacked a caravan of state security forces.

An armed gang burst into a Red Cross clinic in the northern city of Culiacan and attempted to kill a 23-year-old man who had arrived with head wounds and one arm nearly axed off, according to the state security agency.

The injured man escaped, however, and the gunmen stopped their chase when police arrived. It was the fifth such attack on Red Cross facilities in Culiacan since 2007.