Security officials in northern Mexico say 180 bodies have been recovered during an excavation of hidden graves in the city of Durango, located in the state with the same name.
Officials Tuesday said the bodies were unearthed from several sites and that the remains included those of 12 women.
In recent weeks, investigators also have unearthed 183 bodies from 40 mass graves in the northern state of Tamaulipas, where 72 Central American migrants were found shot to death last August. Mexico's Zetas drug gang is blamed for the Tamaulipas massacre.
Nearly 40,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006 and began a crackdown on the cartels.
This past Sunday, thousands of people marched into the Mexican capital, Mexico City, to demand an end to the bloodshed.
Article by VOA News