Acapulco Killings: 13 Killed In Drug Gang Violence As Spring Break Tourists Arrive

ACAPULCO, Mexico -- At least 13 people have been killed in a Mexican Pacific coast state plagued by drug gang violence.

Guerrero state police say the dead include two decapitated men whose bodies were left on a scenic road packed with nightclubs in the resort city of Acapulco.

In a separate incident, gunmen killed five police officers patrolling in Tuncingo, a rural community outside Acapulco. In the same area, police found bullet-ridden bodies of five men, including two who had been beheaded.

Another man was found shot to death on the edge of Acapulco.

Police named no motive for the killings early Saturday. It is unclear if they were related.

Guerrero state is a key battleground for Mexico's brutal drug cartels.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the murders come just as spring break tourists have started to arrive:

News channels have been showing footage of young U.S., Canadian and European tourists already frolicking on the beaches of Acapulco, as if to say "maybe this year" and convey a sense of normality. And this weekend is a holiday; thousands of Mexican tourists were headed to Acapulco to take advantage of a three-day weekend marking the birthday of 19th century President Benito Juarez.