YouTube new battleground for drug wars

A screen grab of YouTube shows a scene of a video posted by a Mexican gang

Mexican drug gangs fighting a bloody turf war may have found a new battleground on the pages of online video service YouTube.

On the site, rivals taunt each other with blood-soaked slideshows and film of their murder victims.

One popular video on the site shows a man being shot in the head. It has been viewed more than 280,000 times.

A stomach-churning series of photos shows another execution victim, his missing face a mangled mess of flesh.

A YouTube spokesperson said it was up to users to flag footage as inappropriate.