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Bruno Itan

A photographer who documented the results of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has reported how residents brought back badly injured victims of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan described. The total contained security forces.

A particular victim had been decapitated - others were "totally disfigured", he reported. Many also had what he described as blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness stated that he initially learned to the raid in the early hours by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The reporter went to a local medical facility, where the victims were arriving.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from going into the affected area, where the operation were occurring.

"Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the area, reported he managed to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night.

He explained during the night, local residents started looking the elevated terrain that separates Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images reveal the response of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all impacted me a lot: the grief of the families, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, crying, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state stated that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting an illegal organization known as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Originally, local officials claimed that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations suggests that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the final tally of fatalities at 132.

According to researchers, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs nationally, in company with First Capital Command, and has a history extending half a century.

According to correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city for years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

Based on official reports, organization members possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of Rio state, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

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

At a news conference on Wednesday, the official justified security actions.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He further explained that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor also said that the victims presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

Through a message on social media, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A police official from the police department also said that military attire, protective equipment, and firearms" had been removed from the victims and presented video seemingly depicting an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse