Officials recovered at least 51 bodies of apparent victims of drug-cartel wars in graves in northern Mexico and said the toll would likely increase during the search through the weekend, according to dpa. Police and soldiers used mechanical diggers to unearth the bodies from seven sites near the city of Monterrey, and planned to scour two other locations, the Nuevo Leon state attorney general Alejandro Garza said. Police had received an anonymous tip that a landfill was being used as a "narco-tomb" in the municipality of Juarez, east of Monterrey. The bodies appeared to have been burnt, and some bore signs of torture, an aide in Garza's office said. In June, police found more than 50 bodies in an abandoned mine near the tourist town of Taxco. Since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006, an estimated 25,000 deaths have been attributed to organized crime.
