Rio de Janeiro, Feb 28 (AP) A police raid Tuesday morning in several Rio de Janeiro's sprawling, low-income neighborhoods left at least nine dead and six injured, police said in a statement.

The raids targeted areas controlled by the Red Command drug trafficking group and took place in several communities in the city's north, including Cidade de Deus, and the Alemao and Penha complexes of favelas.

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Local residents took to social media to share videos and photos of intense gunfire. Thousands of children were forced to stay home, with public transport and schools shut while the operation was ongoing.

TV broadcaster Globo News showed images of barricades — made of rubber tires, furniture, cars — sometimes set on fire by criminals in an effort to slow down police.

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According to Fogo Cruzado, a nonprofit organization that provides real-time reporting of gun violence in Brazil, shots in the Alemao complex were still being reported mid-afternoon. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)