Inmates beheaded in Brazil prison riots

Fighting between rival gangs in a prison in Brazil has reportedly left at least 10 dead - three of them beheaded.

Local media said the riot broke out at the Alcacuz Penitentiary in Rio Grande do Norte state on Saturday afternoon.

One prison worker said "we could see the heads ripped off" three inmates.

The recent string of Brazilian prison violence began on 1 January when 56 inmates were killed in the northern state of Amazonas.

Authorities said the Family of the North gang targeted members of Brazil's most powerful criminal gang, First Command, in a clash over control of drug-trafficking routes.

Many of the dead were beheaded and dismembered.

On 6 January in the neighbouring state of Roraima, 33 prisoners were killed, many with their hearts and intestines ripped out.