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The photographer

A reporter who documented the results of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has described how community members returned with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The bodies "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer stated. They included those of police officers.

One individual was discovered headless - others were "completely mutilated", he explained. Several bodies showed what appeared to be knife injuries.

More than 120 people lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan reported that residents first notified him to the raid in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer made his way to the healthcare center, where the casualties were coming in.

Itan explained that security forces prevented journalists from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and declared: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who was raised in that neighborhood, explained he succeeded to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until the next morning.

He explained that evening, community members commenced searching the mountainous area that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who had been missing after the operation.

Residents living in Penha arranged the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence reveal the reaction of those present.

"The brutality of it all shook me profoundly: the grief of loved ones, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, outraged parents," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region announced that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Originally, the Rio state government maintained that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action.

Authorities later reported that early calculations suggests that 117 individuals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the final tally of fatalities as 132.

According to researchers, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Per correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "commercial associates".

The criminal group concentrates largely on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking guns, precious metals, energy resources, liquor smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members are well armed and authorities stated that during the raid, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and referred to the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities stating they were "appalled".

During a press briefing the following day, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He continued that the events intensified due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It resulted of the resistance they implemented and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The governor additionally stated that the bodies presented by community members in Penha had been "manipulated".

Through a message on social media, he asserted that particular individuals had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative from the police department additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, vests, and weapons" were taken away from the bodies and presented video apparently demonstrating an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse