At least seven people watching a football match have been shot dead in Mexico, sources said Saturday, adding to the country’s murder toll which last year hit a two-decade high.

The latest killings after more than 25,000 last year happened in Monterrey, an industrial hub in the country’s northeast.

At least four hooded gunmen entered a home in the city and threatened about 20 people watching the football, a source at the local prosecutor’s office told AFP.

Some were herded to a bathroom where they were gunned down, the source said, citing witnesses.

Like much of Mexico, Monterrey has been afflicted by drug violence in recent years.

In 2006 the government launched a controversial military anti-drug operation which critics say has only led to more murders and attacks. (AFP)

•Mexican army patrol the area where seven people were killed inside a house, while they were watching a soccer game in Monterrey, Mexico on January 28, 2018. Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP