7 bodies found in car abandoned in central Mexico

Police found the bodies of six men and one woman inside a car abandoned Monday in an exclusive gated community near the picturesque central Mexican city of Cuernavaca.

Morelos state police said officers found three bodies inside the car and four more in the trunk in the town of Temixco near Cuernavaca. Police gave no other details.

Violence spiked in Morelos state since the Dec. 2009 death of drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva as splintered groups began fighting for control.

In northern Mexico, the army killed four alleged gunmen in the border city of Nuevo Laredo.

The army said in a statement that assailants traveling in two cars opened fire on troops on patrol on Monday. It said the gunmen died when troops return fired.

A shootout between rival gangs in the northern city of Monterrey killed two men, including a hot dog vendor caught in the cross fire, state police said. Three others were injured, including a 2-year-old and the child's father.

In western Michoacan state, the bodies of two men were found with messages from a new drug gang that has been taking responsibility for recent killings in the region and claims to be a replacement for the weakened La Familia cartel.

The bodies were left on a road in the city of Apatzingan, their heads wrapped in tape and their feet and hands bound, the state prosecutors' office said. The message read: "The Knights Templar will not permit assassins to kill innocent people."