Jamaican soldiers and police skirmished on Tuesday with armed supporters of a fugitive alleged drug lord facing U.S. extradition in the third day of violence that has killed 31 people, mostly young civilians.
The sound of intermittent gunfire echoed through parts of the Caribbean tourist island's capital Kingston, as members of the security forces carried out door-to-door searches for Christopher "Dudus" Coke, 42. The United States is seeking his extradition on drugs and gun-running charges.
Police spokesman Karl Angell said 26 civilians were killed and 25 injured in the teeming Tivoli Gardens slum of West Kingston, Coke's "garrison" stronghold, where U.S. prosecutors say he commands an army of young gunmen.
Many were killed when heavily armed soldiers and police stormed the slum on Monday hunting for Coke. The dead included three members of the security forces.
Angell said police had detained more than 200 people and seized firearms.
