At least 56 bodies have been found in graves near the US border in Mexico, the country’s prosecutor announced.

At least 56 bodies have been found in mass graves in northern Mexico not far from the US border, local prosecutors said in a statement on Saturday.

Among the remains are some corpses, some complete skeletons and other partial remains, as well as clothing and bullet casings. They were unearthed earlier this week in the state of Chihuahua – which is on a drug and migrant smuggling route to the US – in a multi-day military-assisted operation, the statement said.

Prosecutors did not release any details about the victims’ identities.

The body has been sent to a forensics laboratory to determine the time and cause of death, with the belief that the victims can be identified, prosecutors said.

The bodies were dug up in an area called “El Wily” controlled by the criminal organization La Linea – one of the armed branches of the Juarez cartel that operates across the border, local media reported.

Mass graves are not uncommon throughout Mexico, especially in areas affected by cartel violence. It’s over 345,000 people in Mexico According to the National Registry of the country, those who are said to be missing.

last monthMexican authorities have found 12 bodies buried in a secret grave in Mexico’s northern state of Chihuahua. Another 12 bodies were found in multiple graves about two hours from Cidad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.

In the year More than 450,000 people have been killed in the country since 2006, when Mexico launched a major crackdown on drug traffickers.

One The largest mass grave in Mexico In the year In 2017, more than 250 skulls were found in what appeared to be a drug cartel mass grave on the outskirts of Veracruz.