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The photographer

An eyewitness who witnessed the consequences of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has described how local people came back with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. Among them were those of police officers.

One of the bodies was found without a head - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed evidence of knife injuries.

More than 120 people were killed in the Tuesday operation against a criminal group - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

Bruno Itan reported that he initially learned about the operation in the early hours by community members living in Alemão, who reached out telling him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were being brought.

Itan explained that security forces blocked media personnel from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and announced: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who was raised in the area, stated he was able to make his way into the restricted zone, where he continued until the next morning.

He reported during the night, community members commenced searching the hillside that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for family members who had been missing following the security action.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the discovered victims in a square - and Itan's photos reveal the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of the situation impacted me profoundly: the pain of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The official of the region stated that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government stated that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the total number of fatalities to be 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has been able to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Per reporter an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "business partners".

The organization focuses mainly on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking weapons, precious metals, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates are well armed and officials reported that throughout the operation, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of Rio state, the government representative, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as "heroes".

However, the count of people killed during the raid has received condemnation from UN human rights officials saying it was "horrified".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he said.

He added that the situation worsened due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It occurred of the retaliation they implemented and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The governor also said that the casualties shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Via a statement through digital channels, he claimed that particular individuals had been taken of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

A police official representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" had been removed from the victims and showed footage seemingly depicting a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse