THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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ACAPULCO, Mexico - The bodies of four people, including two state police officers, were found dumped Thursday in a western Mexican state known for drug violence.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Guillermo Arias

A Mexican soldier patrols the area where drugs were found at the crafts market in Tijuana, Mexico, Tuesday.

The remains of the two police officers were found inside black plastic bags in Union, a town north of the Pacific coast resort cities of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, the Guerrero state Public Safety Department said in a statement.

The officers had been missing since Sunday. Their bodies were found a day after two municipal officers were killed in Union.

Police later found the bodies of two other, unidentified people wrapped in plastic bags and left near a bridge.

Authorities did not name suspects in the police killings, but the way their bodies were found pointed to drug cartels who have stepped up attacks on security officers since President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led crackdown on cartels.

More than 10,800 people have been killed in gang violence since Calderon took office in December 2006.

Earlier Thursday, police said gunmen opened fire and hurled an explosive at a disco and restaurant in Boca del Rio, a beach town on Mexico's Gulf coast. Nobody was hurt in the early morning attacks.

Police spokeswoman Laura Leon blamed the attacks on organized crime. Extortionists linked to drug gangs often attack or burn businesses that refuse to pay.