Mexico City, Apr 4 (IANS/EFE): At least five people, all members of the same family, were gunned down outside the Mexican Pacific port city of Mazatlan, police and prosecutors said.

The victims' bodies were found Tuesday in Chilacayota, a community outside Mazatlan.

Heavily armed gunmen killed the five, but the motive for the killings is not known.

A request will be made to the army to patrol the area, Mazatlan Mayor Alejandro Higuera Osuna told reporters.

Mazatlan is in Sinaloa state, which is the scene of frequent gun battles involving rival drug cartels.

Sinaloa is home to the powerful drug cartel led by Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman.

The Sinaloa cartel, sometimes referred to by officials as the Pacific cartel, is the oldest drug cartel in Mexico and Guzman, considered extremely violent, is one of the most-wanted criminals in Mexico and the United States, where the Drug Enforcement Administration has offered a reward of $5 million for him.

The rival Los Zetas cartel has been trying to grab control of some areas, including Mazatlan, from the Sinaloa cartel.