Rio de Janerio, May 24 (AP) Police in Rio de Janeiro raided the Vila Cruzeiro favela before dawn Tuesday in an operation that prompted a fierce firefight and state officials said at least 11 people died.

The operation was aimed at locating and arresting criminal leaders, some from other states, police said in a statement.

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The statement said agents were fired upon while preparing their incursion, that one resident was shot and killed on site.

It said 11 people were found wounded after the shootout and taken to a nearby state hospital.

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Ten deaths were confirmed in the hospital's emergency room and two people are being treated in the trauma wing, according to a statement from the state's health secretariat.

Local press reported that the resident killed at the scene was a 41-year-old woman hit by a stray bullet.

Authorities had sought to intercept the gang's members outside the neighbourhood, which wasn't possible after police began taking fire, Uirá do Nascimento Ferreira, leader of the military police's tactical unit, told reporters at a news conference in Rio.

The operation was conducted jointly by the military police and federal highway police.

Police seized 16 vehicles, 13 automatic rifles as well as pistols and grenades, the police statement said. (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)