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The eyewitness

A reporter who observed the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how community members brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan stated. They included security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he explained. Many also had what appeared to be knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the bloodiest action in the city.

Bruno Itan stated that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter made his way to a local medical facility, where the victims were being brought.

The photographer stated that security forces blocked media personnel from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the police action was under way.

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

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, reported he succeeded to gain access past the security perimeter, where he stayed until the next morning.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents began to search the hillside which divides the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing after the operation.

Residents from the Penha area proceeded to place the discovered victims in an open area - and Itan's photos show the response of the people there.

"The brutality of the situation impacted me deeply: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The governor of the region announced that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 security personnel was designed to preventing a gang referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Originally, local officials stated that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the overall count of people killed at 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs in the country, in company with a rival criminal group, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Based on reporter Rafael Soares, who has been covering criminal activity in the city over many years, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "commercial associates".

The criminal group focuses mainly on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, fuel, beverages smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that during the raid, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the region, the government representative, described Red Command members as drug terrorists and described the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties during the raid has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "appalled".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He continued that the situation had escalated as the individuals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the resistance they executed and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The state leader further reported that the bodies shown by residents in the area had been "manipulated".

Through a message through digital channels, he asserted that some of them had been taken of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, body armor, and firearms" had been removed from the victims and showed footage apparently demonstrating a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse