Near the southern border, an armed attack resulted in the deaths of two Arizona residents on a dangerous Mexican highway.

A probe is ongoing following the discovery of two Arizona women who were fatally shot in an overturned vehicle on a perilous section of highway in northern Mexico.

The attorney general's office for the state of Sonora announced on social media Friday that two women, identified only by their last names and ages, were 72 and 82.

The victims, originally from Caborca, Mexico, were dual citizens of both countries.

The Ford F-150 and AK-47 and ammunition believed to be linked to the murders were discovered by investigators from the Mexican National Guard and the army, according to the attorney general's office.

Sonora state prosecutors announced that security forces from three levels of government launched an operation to find and capture the criminal group responsible, with the help of specialized air and ground forces.

Sonora and the Sonoyta-Caborca highway are known for violence and trafficking of migrants.

In June 2023, a California student conducting horticulture research in Sonora was discovered shot seven times in an SUV. In December, two American residents and one American citizen were targeted by gunmen while traveling on a highway in Sonora. One of the men was fatally wounded, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

El Chapo, the infamous drug lord, once controlled the state, was arrested in 2016, and is now serving a life sentence in Colorado. Meanwhile, three cartels are still fighting in Sonora.

The U.S. State Department declined to provide a comment to Planet Chronicle Digital.