Officials say four mayors in Mexico have asked federal authorities for protection after a colleague was beheaded last week in the southern state of Guerrero.

Photos of the crime scene showed Mayor Alejandro Arcos' severed head had been left on the hood of his vehicle.

The gruesome killing represents yet another challenge for the country’s new president, who faces increasing pressure to show progress in the fight against violent cartels.

Alejandro Arcos' murder came days after the killing of another city official. according to the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

A portrait of Alejandro Arcos, the mayor of Chilpancingo who was killed on Sunday less than a week after taking office, is shown at his funeral service as Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum is set to unveil a new security policy,

The mayor of a crime-ridden city in Mexico has been killed less than a week after taking office, the latest in a string of violent attacks targeting politicians in the country.