Rio de Janeiro - At least 11 people were killed and a 70- year-old woman shot dead during clashes when police raided the notorious slum Cidade de Deus in Rio de Janeiro's western borough of Jacarepagua, reports said Saturday.

No police officers were injured or killed during the "routine raid" in the hunt for drugs.

Human rights groups and slum dwellers have criticized the increasing frequency of the raids in Rio's favelas. In the month of April alone, two raids claimed the lives of 11 and nine victims respectively.

Opponents say that innocent people, small children and the elderly are almost always dragged into the crossfire.

Two elderly women were also injured in the raids in Cidade de Deus.

Police have meanwhile conceded that the dead woman was not involved in drugs dealing, but all other fatalities were criminals, they insisted.

Gang leader Jorge Ferreira was also killed, police said and weapons including radios and drugs were seized. Police sought to "permanently occupy" various slums, security authorities said. (dpa)