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The eyewitness

A photographer who documented the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has recounted how local people came back with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The casualties "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the photographer stated. Among them were security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - others were "severely damaged", he reported. Numerous victims displayed evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted to the raid Tuesday morning by community members living in Alemão, who contacted him informing him there was a shoot-out.

The reporter made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement prevented journalists from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

"Security forces created a barrier and declared: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the area, stated he managed to gain access past the security perimeter, where he remained until dawn.

He reported during the night, area inhabitants commenced searching the hillside that borders the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who had been missing after the operation.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the located casualties in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the response of the people there.

"The violence of what occurred affected me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The governor of Rio state announced that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting a gang known as Red Command from expanding its territory.

At first, the Rio state government claimed that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" lost their lives in the raid.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has put the total number of people killed as 132.

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

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with First Capital Command, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Per reporter Rafael Soares, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the gang "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The organization focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, but also smuggles firearms, gold, energy resources, liquor cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that throughout the operation, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the region, the government representative, described gang affiliates as drug terrorists and described the security forces who died during the operation as "heroes".

But the number of fatalities in the security action has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "horrified".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, the state leader supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

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

The state leader additionally stated that the victims presented by community members in the neighborhood were "altered".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" were taken away from the victims and presented video seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse