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The eyewitness

A photographer who observed the aftermath of an extensive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has described how residents returned with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan reported. They included those of police officers.

A particular victim was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he reported. Many also had evidence of blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation in the city.

The photographer explained that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The reporter traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were arriving.

The photographer stated that the police stopped members of the press from going into the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Police officers created a barrier and announced: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the community, explained he managed to make his way into the restricted zone, where he continued until dawn.

He described that evening, local residents began to search the hillside that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing since the police raid.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the recovered bodies in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the reaction of the people there.

"The violence of what occurred affected me a lot: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, expectant spouses, crying, outraged parents," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The state leader of the state declared that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was designed to stopping a criminal group referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Initially, the Rio state government stated that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations suggests that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has calculated the total number of fatalities as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that recently has managed to make territorial gains across the region.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Per Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio over many years, Red Command "functions as a network" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies".

The gang focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, while also dealing in weapons, precious metals, energy resources, beverages and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of Rio state, the political leader, characterized organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as "heroes".

However, the count of fatalities during the raid has received condemnation from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance the following day, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He added that the situation intensified due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

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

In a post on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force also said that tactical gear, body armor, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage appearing to show a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse