Violent gang MS-13 is believed linked to these 11 recent Long Island killings

— -- Members of the violent MS-13 gang have been linked to the recent deaths of at least 11 young people on Long Island, New York, according to reports from the Associated Press.

While MS-13’s presence in some of Long Island's suburban communities is nothing new, some recent killings that are believed to be gang-affiliated have drawn nationwide attention, including from President Trump who said the murders are linked to relaxed immigration policies of the past.

“We are putting MS-13 in jail and getting them the hell out of our country,” he told AP this week. “They are a bad group, and somebody said they are as bad as al-Qaida, which is a hell of a reference. ... We are out in Long Island cleaning out the MS-13 scum.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions echoed the president's remarks in a speech he gave on gang violence near a Long Island park where the bodies of four young men were found earlier this month.

“I have a message for gang members who target young people,” Sessions said, according to ABC-owned station WABC. “We are targeting you. We are going after you.”

Many killings attributed to MS-13 have been in two Long Island communities -- Brentwood and Central Islip. A map below shows just how close the locations are of where the bodies were found.

Here are 11 killings that took place from mid-2016 to now.

June 3, 2016:Jose Pena, 18, was a student at Brentwood High School in Suffolk County, Long Island. According to reports from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, he was killed on June 3, 2016, but the remains of his body were not recovered until Oct. 17, 2016. The U.S. Attorney's Office reports that murder charges have been brought against suspects in Pena's death.