Brazilian police killed three as drug gang attacked Rio police post

Police of Rio de Janeiro killed three suspected drug traffickers and repelled an attack on a police outpost in a Brazilian capital's poor west side.

Police said the attack was a reprisal for the killing earlier this month of Zinho, the leader of a drug gang in the Antares shantytown in Santa Cruz, a poor district 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Rio.

About 10 gang members attacked a community police outpost in Antares shortly after midnight Sunday but dispersed when officers fired back, killing three, police said.

In Rio de Janeiro state, police killed 983 civilians last year. Rio, the state capital, is one of the world's most violent cities, with an annual homicide rate of 50 per 100,000 residents.