Six shot dead in drug-related conflict in Honduras

Six people were shot dead in the early hours of Sunday in a small Honduran village in what authorities said was a drug-related conflict.

Among the six victims were two brothers, both of whose parents are serving sentence on charges of selling drugs, media reported.

The killings took place between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. local time(0800 GMT) in Las Tejeras, the central department of Comayagua, police spokesman Leonel Sauceda told reporters.

Witnesses said the victims were conversing inside a ramshackle home "when armed men arrived at the scene and began to fire without saying anything," the daily La Tribuna said on its website.

Officials found bottles of liquor and spent cartridge on the dirt floor of the residence.

Santos Cecilio Euceda and Nelson Ramos Vega Euceda were the sons of Hilda Euceda, a woman who was detained in July on drug charges, Sauceda said.

Two years ago, "the young boys' stepfather was arrested and is in prison ... for selling drugs," he added.

Given the family's drug convictions, the authorities are investigating the massacre as a drug-related crime, probably sparked by a turf war, the official said.

On Nov. 29, five people were shot dead in the western department of Copan, the daily said. Enditem