Land dispute ends in murders of 26

MEXICO CITY -- Gunmen ambushed a truckload of people on a mountain road in southern Mexico, killing 26, state police said Saturday.

Oaxaca Police Commander Jonas Gutierrez Coro said the Friday evening attack apparently involved a land dispute.

According to a news release from the state attorney general's office, truck driver Alberto Antonio Perez said he was driving the passengers from Santiago Sochiltepec when gunmen stopped the truck as it reached a settlement called Agua Fria at about 7 p.m.

He said the gunmen ordered him and his son to leave, then they opened fire on the truck.

Santiago Sochiltepec is a village of about 650 people in the municipality of Santiago Textitlan, which has a long-standing dispute over lands with neighboring San Pedro el Alto.