Fourteen dismembered bodies were found Thursday in an abandoned cargo vehicle in northeastern Mexico, an area prone to drug violence, prosecutors told AFP.

A police officer discovered the bodies of 11 men and three women at midday in the vehicle, which was illegally parked near city hall in Ciudad Mante, they said.

Ciudad Mante, which has a population of 10,000, is located in the Tamaulipas state, some 370 kilometers (230 miles) north of Mexico City. In mid-April, police found 10 bodies in the town, some of them decapitated.

Police also found a blanket on the site with a message from the killers, but officials declined to give further details.

According to local media foakleys radar pitch, a man parked the vehicle in broad daylight and then walked away down one of the town's busiest streets.

Police and soldiers blocked off the area after the bodies were discovered and conducted a raid nearby. The bodies were then taken to the morgue.

The Tamaulipas state -- along the US-Mexico border -- has been the site of fierce turf wars between the Gulf drug cartel and the Zetas.