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The eyewitness

A photographer who documented the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has described how residents returned with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The victims "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. The total contained those of police officers.

One individual was found without a head - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he reported. Many also had what he described as knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan explained that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by local people from the Alemão area, who sent him messages alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer made his way to the healthcare center, where the victims were arriving.

The photographer stated that the police stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces formed a line and declared: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, reported he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he stayed until dawn.

He explained during the night, local residents started looking the mountainous area which divides the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing following the security action.

Local people living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in an open area - and Itan's photos display the response of the people there.

"The harsh reality of the situation shook me deeply: the grief of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, sobbing, angry family members," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The official of the state declared that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a criminal group called Red Command from increasing their control.

Initially, the Rio state government maintained that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the operation.

Authorities later reported that early calculations indicates that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to the poor, has estimated the overall count of casualties as 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, in company with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Based on correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with area gang leaders joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The organization focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking weapons, valuable minerals, fuel, alcohol smoking products.

Based on official reports, gang members are well armed and officials reported that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the region, the government representative, characterized organization participants as drug terrorists and called the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

However, the count of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "horrified".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the state leader justified security actions.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We intended to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He continued that the events intensified because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The state leader further reported that the victims presented by community members in Penha were "altered".

Via a statement on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been taken of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A police official from the police department further reported that military attire, vests, and arms" had been removed from the victims and showed footage appearing to show a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse