RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – At least nine people were killed by police in a raid in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro aimed at locating and arresting members of criminal groups, authorities said on Wednesday.
During the operation authorities were attacked by armed individuals, police said in a statement.
One officer was wounded but is stable in hospital.
Among the dead are Fiel and Du Leme, leaders of the impoverished Juramento and Chatuba neighborhoods, known locally as ‘favelas,’ police said.
Seven rifles, ammunition and grenades have been seized from the suspects’ possession, police said.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Steven Grattan; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Richard Chang)
