12 killed in Rio clashes with police, drug gangs

At least 12 people were killed and a helicopter was downed Saturday in fierce clashes between drug gangs and police in Rio de Janeiro, weeks after the city won its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

Two policemen were killed and two others were wounded early Saturday when their helicopter was shot down by drug traffickers in a day of running battles in the slums of northern Rio, said military police commander Mario Sergio Duarte.

Nine buses were also set on fire in other neighborhoods close to "Morro dos Macacos" favela, in retaliation for a police operation aimed at controlling heavy gun battles between rival drug gangs in the area.

Drug traffickers in the neighboring "Morro do Sao Jao" favela had tried to invade Morro dos Macacos and seize control there, officials told reporters.

After the helicopter crashed and exploded shortly after landfall, a new gunbattle erupted between the gangs and over a hundred policemen, who were backed by Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) troops and an armored vehicle.

Rio's win to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in South America, is a serious challenge for the city in terms of security. Some 6,000 people were murdered here in 2008 alone.