Two dead, 37 injured in Ecuador leader's rescue

QUITO: A military operation that rescued Ecuador's President Rafael Correa late Thursday from a police hospital besieged by rebel police left two dead and 37 injured, a Red Cross spokesman said.

"Two police died after being taken to the hospital," said Fernando Gandarillas, the Red Cross spokesman.

He added that 37 people were wounded in exchanges of gunfire between forces loyal to the government and police protesting a law that would have stripped them of bonus pay.

Earlier, the Red Cross had reported that at least 50 people were injured in clashes between police and Correa supporters who converged on the hospital.

Correa, who reemerged at the presidential palace after his rescue, charged that the uprising was an attempted coup by opposition forces.