Several alleged gang members were killed in Haiti on Friday during intensified security operations in the eastern plains of Port-au-Prince, where police successfully recovered a high-powered sniper rifle known as a “weapon of war” but were forced to destroy a helicopter used in their operations.

Haiti National Police Spokesman Garry Desrosiers told the Miami Herald that at least seven gang members were killed during the operations, in which police recovered a Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle. The semiautomatic rifle is so powerful it can pierce cinder-block walls and most armored vehicles.

“We are in full combat,” Desrosiers said, declining to provide additional details about the operations, including reports that a helicopter used by a government task force was struck by gunfire and was

See Full Page