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Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the consequences of a massive security raid in the Brazilian city has recounted how residents returned with disfigured remains of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the photographer described. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim was found without a head - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were killed in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted about the operation in the early hours by local people living in Alemão, who reached out telling him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to a local medical facility, where the victims were arriving.

Itan explained that the police stopped members of the press from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Security forces formed a line and announced: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who was raised in the community, explained he was able to enter past the security perimeter, where he continued through the night.

He described that evening, local residents began to search the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the recovered bodies in a public space - the documented evidence display the response of the people there.

"The harsh reality of it all impacted me a lot: the pain of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, weeping, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the state announced that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 officers was designed to halting an illegal organization called Red Command from growing their influence.

Originally, state authorities claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has estimated the overall count of casualties as 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has been able to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in the country, together with another major gang, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Per correspondent an expert, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking weapons, gold, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

Based on official reports, organization members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of the region, Cláudio Castro, labeled Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

But the number of fatalities during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, the state leader justified security actions.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He further explained that the circumstances intensified as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the retaliation they implemented and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The official additionally stated that the casualties presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on social media, he said that certain victims had been taken of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi from the police department further reported that tactical gear, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse