Police in Mexico yesterday found the headless bodies of 15 men outside a shopping centre in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.

Officers in the southern state of Guerrero say handwritten signs were left with the bodies, a common calling card of Mexico’s drug cartels.

Acapulco has seen bloody turf battles between rival drug gangs in recent years.

The bodies are the largest single group of decapitation victims since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against cartels in late 2006.

In 2008, a group of 12 decapitated bodies were found outside the Yucatan state capital of Merida.

The same year, nine decapitated men were found in the Guerrero state capital of Chilpancingo.