Brazil sends crack crime fighters to Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Brazil is sending its elite crime fighting unit to Rio de Janeiro state to combat urban violence, Justice Minister Thomaz Bastos said Tuesday.

Created in the past year, the National Public Security Force will reportedly be working with state authorities in the fight against narcotics trafficking and the violence it spawns.

The decision to send additional help to Rio follows a report published Tuesday saying 11 military police were killed in the month of January in urban gun battles.

In 2003, four were killed during the same period.