Rio thieves armed with grenades rob tourists

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov 26 (Reuters) Thieves armed with automatic rifles and military-issue grenades robbed a busload of British tourists in Rio de Janeiro before dawn today, the latest incident in a wave of violent crime plaguing Brazil's seaside tourist mecca.

Police said four armed men pretending to be police stopped the tour bus as it pulled into an upscale neighborhood in the southern part of the city.

At least 18 British tourists who had just arrived in Brazil were robbed, losing their luggage, passports and cash. One tourist who resisted was hit in the head with the butt of a rifle but was not seriously hurt, police said.

The robbery took place near Rio's famed Ipanema beach, a swanky area where police and drug traffickers squared off in a prolonged shootout this week that sent tourists ducking for cover.

Two days later a prominent socialite was shot and killed by a teenage assailant on a bicycle as she pulled up to a stoplight in Leblon, another glitzy beach neighborhood popular with tourists.

Nestled between lush mountains covered in tropical vegetation and the Atlantic ocean, Rio has long been Brazil's most popular tourist destination. But it also has one of the highest murder rates in the world, prompting some travel agencies to warn tourists that it might be safer to vacation elsewhere.

REUTERS KR RAI2133