Mexico City - Mexican authorities on Sunday announced the arrests of 10 men and a woman in connection with the discovery outside Mexico City of the bodies of 24 men who appeared to have been executed.

All 24 had suffered gunshot wounds to the head.

The suspects were arrested at a house in Arcelia, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

Weapons, ammunition, camouflage clothing and portable radios were seized in the raid. Vehicles were also seized, including one vehicle with 16 bullet impacts in one door.

There had been 24 reported abductions without ransom demands in recent days in Arcelia.

The 24 bodies were found late Friday in Ocoyoacac, a municipality some 40 kilometres from Mexico City, in forested mountains of La Marquesa. They were believed to have been slain elsewhere.

The public prosecutor's office in the central state of Mexico suspected that the men were killed in war between drug gangs.

Residents of Arcelia have not dared to go into the street since a turf battle broke out between two traficking gangs.

The bodies - believed to be men aged 25-35 - were found with their hands and feet bound. Several wore light clothing more appropriate for a warmer area and some showed signs of torture.

Mexico state Attorney General Alberto Bazbaz said the dead men all came from states in western Mexico or from Central America.

More than 3,000 people have been slain so far this year in Mexico in the drug cartel wars, despite military and federal police operations that have been in place for close to two years to combat drug crimes.

Friday was the deadliest day of 2008 so far, according to the daily El Universal, with 41 people killed.

On Thursday, armed attackers kidnapped six young men as they attended the burial of two drug traffickers at a luxury cemetery in the state of Sinaloa.