The Spanish police said on Thursday that they found the partially burned bodies of three elderly siblings in their home near the capital Madrid, and the bodies of two women and a man in their sixties and seventies were found piled up in their home in the small town of Morata de Tajuña, about 40 kilometers southeast of the capital Madrid, according to the police on Thursday. The bodies showed signs of violence.

A police spokeswoman told the German news agency (dpa) that a settling of scores is considered a possible motive for the crime. The siblings had frequently borrowed large sums of money from acquaintances and neighbors.

The Spanish newspaper "El País" quoted neighbors saying that the two sisters were transferring money to two men they say have been soldiers in Afghanistan for years.

Local media reported that the three sold an apartment in Madrid to raise money for the alleged soldiers, and they have long asked neighbors and acquaintances to lend them amounts up to 3,000 euros (3,270 dollars).

The two sisters ignored their neighbors' warnings that this could be a scam, and the police have not yet confirmed this information.