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The eyewitness

A reporter who documented the results of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how residents returned with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness reported. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

One individual was discovered headless - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma.

In excess of 120 victims were fatally injured during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness reported that he initially learned about the operation early on Tuesday by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were being brought.

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

"Law enforcement personnel established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who was raised in the community, stated he managed to gain access into the restricted zone, where he stayed through the night.

He described that Tuesday night, community members began to search the elevated terrain which divides the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Local people from the Penha area organized the located casualties in a public space - the photographer's images reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of the situation shook me a lot: the pain of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, sobbing, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to preventing a gang called the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Originally, state authorities maintained that "60 suspects along with four officers" lost their lives in the raid.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has put the overall count of fatalities at 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has succeeded to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction nationally, alongside a rival criminal group, with a background extending half a century.

According to correspondent Rafael Soares, who has been covering crime in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "operational allies".

The organization concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking guns, precious metals, petroleum products, beverages smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, characterized gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and described the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

However, the count of fatalities during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader defended the police force.

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

He continued that the events had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they executed and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The official also said that the bodies shown by residents in the neighborhood were "altered".

In a post on social media, he claimed that certain victims had been removed of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage apparently demonstrating a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse