In a major upheaval in Mexico's troubled attorney general's office, top prosecutors in 21 of the country's 31 states and federal district have abruptly quit, officials announced Monday.

Specific reasons were not given for the en masse resignations, but they come amid a widening purge of the agency by Atty. Gen. Marisela Morales, who took office in April and has seen several high-profile drug-trafficking prosecutions fall apart.

It was not clear whether the 21 senior federal prosecutors were being forced out or were quitting in rebellion over Morales and her administration.

"The purge is fundamental within the [attorney general's office] to give citizens the results they legitimately demand," Morales said in a statement. "The Mexico of today requires that those of us in public office act with total dedication and responsibility of service."

The office announced late last month that in Morales' first 100 days on the job, 462 prosecutors and other officials had been dismissed and 111 more were facing criminal charges involving a range of infractions, including fraud, theft, abuse of power and falsification of documents. An additional 386 employees were in the process of being dismissed.

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