London - Police in Britain Tuesday arrested 11 men and women in connection with the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones in Liverpool in August, the authorities said.

The 11-year-old boy was shot as he walked home through a car park from football practice in the Croxteth area of the city in north- west England.

No-one has been charged in connection with the murder, which shocked the nation.

Police have repeatedly appealed for support from the public to come forward with information about those responsible for the murder. They have recovered the murder weapon and staged a reconstruction of the attack.

They said eight men and three women, including teenagers and adults, were detained in dawn raids Tuesday. The arrests were described as "significant."

Two teenagers and two men were held on suspicion of murder, while the others were suspected of assisting an offender, initial reports said.

Since the investigations began, some 20 people have been arrested, of whom some have been freed on bail.

Some of those detained Tuesday had been questioned by police before, reports said. (dpa)