Mexico gunmen attack family, kill 11: Officials

Puebla state: Gunmen burst into a family`s home in Mexico at dawn on Friday, killing nine adults and two children, officials said.

The attack took place in El Mirador, a mountain community in central Puebla state, a region that has been relatively spared from the drug violence plaguing other parts of Mexico.

"We can confirm 11 deaths: five women, four men and two girls. Two other minors were badly wounded and taken to the hospital," said Vicente Lopez de la Vega, the mayor of the town of Coxcatlan, which oversees El Mirador.

Puebla state government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed the massacre.

The Puebla state prosecutor`s office is investigating whether the crime was related to organized crime or a family dispute.

While drug violence is not common in Puebla, some bodies have turned up in recent months.

In April, four bodies were found inside a burnt car near Veracruz, an eastern state beset by murders and disappearances linked to drug cartels. Two of the bodies belonged to sisters of a jailed Zetas drug cartel member, Veracruz authorities said.

That same day, three other bodies were found in the same area near a facility of state-run oil firm Pemex.

Puebla is also among the states with the most fuel thefts in the country.

Organized crime gangs tap thousands of Pemex pipelines across the country each year.

Late last month, four people died when gunmen linked to fuel thefts opened fire in the village of La Purisima, a region where rival gangs seek to control such illegal pipeline taps.

Puebla has also seen a spate of mob lynchings of crime suspects.