Death toll from police raid in Brazil rises to 121

Operation targeted a major drug gang in two of Rio de Janeiro’s low-income areas.

- BY ELÉONORE HUGHES AND GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA

RESIDENTS of Rio de Janeiro protest the deadly police raid that began Tuesday.

(SILVIA IZQUIERDO Associated Press)

The death toll in a major police raid targeting a drug trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro has risen to at least 121 people, authorities said Thursday morning.

The operation began Tuesday in two of the city’s favelas, sparking intense gun battles. An unknown number of people were wounded. Among the dead were four police officers, according to officials.

The number of dead rose from 119 to 121, but further details on the two new deaths weren't immediately available.

Human rights organizations have called for investigations into the deaths, describing the operation as one of the most violent in Brazil's recent history.

Police said that the raid followed a yearlong investigation into the Red Command criminal gang, which controls drug trafficking and other illicit activities in the low-income communities of Complexo do Alemao and Penha.