MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — Officials say they have found seven burned and dismembered bodies in the bed of a pickup truck in a part of western Mexico plagued by battles between drug gangs.

The Michoacan state prosecutor's office says the bodies were found early Saturday on a highway east of Lake Chapala, between the towns of Sahuayo and La Barca.

Seventeen other bodies were discovered about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away along the same highway on Monday.

The area is near where Jalisco and Michoacan states meet. The area is contested by the Jalisco-based New Generation group and the Michoacan-based Knights Templars.